the goan I network
MAPUSA
With just a day to go for counting, all eyes are on whether BJP will manage to maintain its lead in Bardez, an effort that propelled the party to a simple majority in the last election.
More than a fourth of BJP seats came from Bardez, with the party pocketing six out of seven seats that were up for grabs in the 2012 assembly elections.
No wonder three ministers, including the deputy chief minister came from Bardez.
The moot question however, is whether the party will retain the six seats this time around.
“Wait and watch. This time we are going to crack all seven seats in Bardez,” said a confident sounding Sadanand Tanavde, BJP’s general secretary.
He however, added a rider to his prediction stating that the margin of victory may reduce in a couple of seats but the party was sure to bag all seven in the taluka.
“In one or two constituencies, the margin will be thin. Even in Porvorim we will win though the margin will be very less,” he said.
The party’s confidence emerges from two factors “ the party’s famed organisation setup and the women power.
“We have a strong organisation structure that is active throughout the five years. Our party cadre doesn’t wake up only during the elections. The party workers have been working constantly throughout,” Tanavade said.
He also put a lot of onus on women voters and expected majority of women to vote for BJP due to the popular women-oriented schemes launched by the party.
“If the husband has voted for another party, we are sure that the wife will definitely stand by us,” he said.
But 2017 is different in many ways.
BJP is fighting a rejuvenated Congress which has given three new faces in the taluka. The party’s former alliance partner along with the breakaway RSS group through Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) is also posing tough competition in at least five out of seven constituencies in Bardez.
And the presence of AAP has given another twist to the election trail in this election.
But BJP is not worried. On the contrary, the party feels the split in opposition vote will definitely take them through.
“GSM will get a big zero. Only in two constituencies their candidates will manage to secure their deposit,” the general secretary opined.
He dismissed the challenge posed by MGP and said the party has no organisation structure and only managed to import candidates and field them at the last minute.
Similarly, apart from two or three nominees, most of the AAP candidates will lose their deposit at the hustings, he said.
