VALPOI
With Vishwajit Rane demolishing the opponents in a one-sided contest, the actual fight in Valpoi constituency was over the ‘silver’ medal and that honour went to the smaller and lesser known Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP), much to the embarrassment of the Congress and AAP.
Such was the performance of the RGP in Valpoi constituency, that the AAP was placed far behind in third place and the Congress was relegated to the fourth position.
While Rane polled 14,462 votes and won by a margin of 8,905 votes, the RGP candidate Manoj Parab polled a sizeable 6,377 votes.
There has been considerable discussion on how RGP could have polled such a large number of votes in Valpoi constituency. Some believe that the agitation over the scrapped Shel-Melauli IIT project had influenced the voting pattern in Guleli panchayat.
In Guleli panchayat area, RGP received 877 votes while the BJP could secure only a few more votes (909).
The RGP also did well to secure 2,966 votes in Usgaon-Ganje Panchayat, which falls in Valpoi constituency, despite the fact that Rane wields considerable influence in the panchayat area.
A similar situation unfolded in Nagargao and Savarde panchayat areas, where the RGP polled a large number of votes.The stellar performance by the RGP has left the more established parties like Congress and AAP pondering on their own performances in Valpoi constituency.
Once considered the stronghold of the Congress party, Valpoi constituency has slipped from its grip and the Congress has now been relegated to the fourth position. “We now need to introspect if we had fielded a wrong or weak candidate in Valpoi constituency. If a party wants to return to its former glory, it is imperative for us to strengthen the party from day one. For this, some difficult decisions will have to be taken by senior party leaders,” remarked a Congress party worker.
