OLD GOA
Admitting that the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) did not perform as per expectations at the Lok Sabha polls, St Andre’s RGP MLA Viresh Borkar, however, said the party leaders will sit together and analyse the results minutely so that the party performs better at the next Assembly elections.
Speaking exclusively to The Goan, Borkar informed that the performance of RGP, particularly in the South, was below expectations.
“But we will sit down and analyse the areas where we did not perform well, and concentrate on these areas to improve performance at the 2027 Assembly polls,” Borkar stated, while adding that there were many areas where the party did perform better.
“Further, it appeared that since these were national polls, the majority of Goans did not look beyond the BJP and the Congress. So that is also a factor why RGP suffered,” Borkar added.
To a question about the vote-share going down from over 9 percent to 7 percent, Borkar replied: “Again, it was due to the voters looking differently at the LS polls.”
“The Assembly polls are a different ball game altogether, where the voters look at local issues. And since RGP is at the forefront in taking up local issues, the voting pattern will be different,” Borkar added.
He noted that even in Salcete, where RGP performed better at the 2022 Assembly polls, it was not the same at the LS polls as the voters again looked at the elections from a national point of view.
The MLA then stated that it takes time for any political party to grow. “Even the Congress and the BJP took time to grow in the State. There are ups and downs in politics but it does not mean that one should give up. We are going to face the challenges and we are going to overcome them,” Borkar informed.
On his party standing third in his own St Andre constituency, Borkar said the opposition parties coming together under the INDIA bloc was the major factor. “Since the parties came under the INDIA bloc the equation changed,” he said.
Borkar then pointed out that the party performed better in the rural areas where their vote-share increased. “We have increased our vote-share in the rural areas and we are definitely going to concentrate more on these areas to further improve performance,” the MLA said.
When questioned whether the results would affect RGP, especially him, if the INDIA bloc continued the alliance at the 2027 Assembly polls, Borkar replied in the negative. “The outlook of the voters would be different then,” he said.
