PORVORIM
Inducting former Goa Forward Party’s (GFP) Saligao MLA Jayesh Salgaonkar into the BJP ahead of the polls was a miscalculation which proved costly for the BJP in Saligao constituency, leading to the defeat of the party at the elections.
Salgaonkar’s entry into the BJP had led to a split among disgruntled BJP leaders and workers in the constituency. One of those BJP rebel leaders and Reis Magos Sarpanch Kedar Naik eventually joined the Congress and seized the advantage of a divided BJP to defeat Salgaonkar by 1,855 votes.
While Naik secured 9,576 votes and the BJP candidate Jayesh Salgaonkar polled 7,721 votes, thereby enabling the Congress to take control of Saligao constituency for the first time in over 15 years, after BJP had won twice in 2007 and 2012, with the Goa Forward Party winning in 2017.
For the Congress, the arrival of Kedar Naik and the strong support of disgruntled BJP workers was a blessing in disguise, after it had performed miserably in the 2017 polls, when it polled only 1,607 votes as opposed to the GFP (9,658 votes) and BJP (7,518).
The split in BJP votes was evident in virtually all villages of Guirim, Saligao, Salngolda, Pilerne, Reis Magos and Nerul which fall under Saligao constituency.
In each of these villages, the Congress candidate was unable to secure over 500 votes in the 2017 assembly elections, but the situation changed dramatically in the 2022 elections when Kedar Naik secured over 1,200 votes in each of these villages.
This shift in votes was most evident in Pilerne, where Kedar Naik polled 2,980 votes while BJP candidate Jayesh Salgaonkar could get only 1,458 votes.
Later speaking to reporters, an elated Kedar Naik said he was overwhelmed by the support and the faith shown by voters of Saligao constituency.
“BJP karyakartas played a vital role in getting me elected, a fact I cannot deny. I will work hard to fulfil the promises I had given to the electorate,” said Naik.
