PANAJI
If one goes by comments made by the state’s top politiciansas campaigning came to a close on Friday, all parties appear scheduled to winthe February 14 elections with a “comfortable majority”.
The only problem is the fact that only 40 assembly seats areup for grabs in the forthcoming elections.
The campaign which was restricted by Covid norms, accusationsof bribing voters, even a sting operation which alleged a post-pollhorse-trading scenario, ended at 6 pm on Friday with a series of pressconferences where senior politicians claimed that their party or alliance wouldbreast the electoral tape.
According to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, the promise of a“double engine” government with a BJP-led government in Goa and at the Centrehad caught the fancy of the voters.
Maintaining that the BJP would win 22-plus seats, Sawantsaid that his government’s first priority would be to complete infrastructureprojects which were impacted by the Covid pandemic.
“For the three years, there were some infrastructureprojects like the Mopa airport, completion of which were affected due to thepandemic. Completing them will be my priority once we come back to power,”Sawant said.
The Chief Minister also said that his ambition of turningGoa into a ‘swayampurna’ state had been achieved to the tune of 20 per cent andit would be his endeavour to make it 100 percent once the party comes to power.
The Congress also expressed confidence it will ride to powerwith its senior party observer P Chidambaram stating that the party would noteven need the support of an alliance partner to form a government.
“I don’t think that situation will arise. We are confidentthat we will get a simple majority plus,” Chidambaram said.
He also said that the errors the party made after the 2017polls would not be repeated this time around. “What happened in 2017will nothappen. We are guarding our house very well and once we have the numbers wewill form the government. Not a minute will be wasted in making a claim to formthe government,” Chidambaram said.
While BJP has promised three free LPG cylinders a year fordomestic consumers along with subsidised housing, the Congress has promised toextend its Chhattisgarh government’s ‘Nyay’ initiative in Goa, with a promiseto provide Rs 6,000 to economically backward communities.
The Aam Aadmi Party which set the ball rolling as far as thetrend of electoral freebies is concerned, also appears convinced that itspromises of plenty would work well with the voters.
“We have forced the government to come out with a schemeannouncing free water. We stand firmly behind commitments related toelectricity, water and medicines,” the party’s national convener Rahul Mahambresaid.
Former deputy Chief Minister Sudin Dhavalikar, also saidthat the TMC-MGP alliance would win the polls, adding that people in Goa arelooking for change in the February 14 elections.
“Change is a must and people are coming forward for it.Corruption is increasing day by day. The reason for that is Congress and nowBJP. The BJP has taken corruption to new heights,” Dhavalikar said.
The other dark horse in the fray is the nativistRevolutionary Goans Party (RGP), which is making its debut in the elections.Founded by 37-year-old Manoj Parab, the outfit has made the preservation ofGoan identity its main poll plank based on key poll promises like reservationof land and jobs for native sons of the soil.
Set against the backdrop of unemployment, the RGP, which hasgained sizeable traction among both the Hindu and Catholic youngsters, iscontesting in 38 assembly seats. While the party does not appear to have gainedthe critical mass to win seats, its maiden presence has triggered anxiety overwhich mainstream party’s vote bank it is likely to breach.
