PANAJI
Known to be the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) quintessential in-house electoral strategist, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday addressed the ruling party’s legislators, leaders and important functionaries holding forth on do’s and don’ts in the run-up to the assembly polls Goa is slated for February 2022.
Stay connected with people was the theme of Shah’s advice to the party’s Goa unit which is seemingly facing anti-incumbency after staying in power for ten years at a stretch.
The BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis, former chief minister of Maharashtra and that State’s current Opposition Leader and CT Ravi who looks after party affairs in Goa, were also part of the intra-party parleys presided by Shah.
Strategy issues were, however, not touched by Shah who has left the crucial decision of striking alliances with other parties with the State leadership even as there are reports that back-channel talks with estranged ally - Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party -- and its leader Sudin Dhavalikar are on.
No BJP leader was willing to come on record on the details of what transpired at the discussions Shah had but soon after the meeting Chief Minister Pramod Sawant revealed that several election-related strategies were deliberated.
According to Sawant, the Union Home Minister dwelt on the roles MLAs, leaders and ‘karyakatas’ need to play to ensure victory for the BJP in the 2022 polls.
Shah has a penchant for drawing up out-of-the-box strategies and large-scale replacement of sitting MLAs is one of his patent moves to tide over anti-incumbency in States where the party is in power for multiple terms. In Goa, the BJP is in power
since 2012.
Recently, Sawant more than amply hinted this could be one of the strategies the party may adopt to face the 2022 polls, when he publicly said, it is not possible to give tickets to all sitting MLAs.
Ports minister Michael Lobo too echoed the sentiment and even suggested that he himself could be among those MLAs refused renomination by the party.
Lobo has been sending confusing signals to the party leadership even as he has been publicly propagating the political ambitions of his sarpanch-wife Delilah Lobo who has set her eyes on contesting from the Siolim constituency where another BJP veteran Dayanand Mandrekar has staked a claim.
On a recent visit to the State, BJP election in-charge Fadnavis had rushed to Lobo’s residence after one of his media bytes indicated the Calangute legislator’s rebellious mood. Both Fadnavis and Lobo had then air-dashed to Delhi where the duo had a tete-a-tete with Shah ostensibly to ‘resolve’ Lobo’s apprehensions.
Post that Delhi visit, however, Lobo continued his overt political engagement in Siolim with wife Delilah in tow and has even gone on record that she has made up her mind and will contest on any other party if BJP refuses her the nomination.
Meanwhile, Panaji MLA, Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate, who is facing competition for the Panaji BJP ticket from Utpal Parrikar, son of former chief minister the late Manohar Parrikar, has asserted that the BJP will fight the elections on its own and no alliances were discussed during Shah’s two-day visit.
According to Monserrate, Shah has drawn up strategies and has asked them to implement it which will ensure BJP will win a majority.
