the goan I network
MARGAO
Just a day to go for the D-Day on May 23, the day when the Election Commission will take up counting of votes for the South Goa Lok Sabha seat, one question that has come back to haunt the key parties is - whether BJP will manage to retain the seat as predicted by the exit polls or will the Congress prove the pollsters wrong by regaining its hold over South Goa, which has been the party’s bastion over the years.
That’s not all. Both the key players will have to grapple again with the same old question “ whether the AAP factor will come in the way of the Congress regaining its hold over South Goa or will the Dhavalikar effect in Madkai and the hinterland talukas stop the BJP from playing a second innings in the constituency.
Both the Congress and BJP camps have exuded confidence of winning the South Goa seat. Comparatively, the Congress camp appeared upbeat of winning the seat, as the party hoped to take a huge lead by capitalizing on the 1.63 lakh polling that took place in its stronghold Salcete, before the exit polls came up with a shocker that the Congress would lose both the two Lok Sabha seats, including Goa.
Congress candidate, Francisco Sardinha, who had won the South Goa seat thrice in the past, remains unfazed. “I am confident of winning the seat by a margin of minimum 20,000 votes. The victory margin may see a further increase, but what I want to stress is that going by the polling, the Congress will regain the seat,” Sardinha told The Goan.
He added: “I fail to understand how the exit polls have based their assessment of the South Goa seat. Irrespective of what the exit polls have predicted, I am confident of winning the seat.”
Three-time Congress MLA Reginaldo Lourenco echoed similar sentiments. He was categorical in saying the Congress would win the South Goa seat, irrespective of the verdict of the exit polls. Reginaldo, who had lost the South Goa seat to sitting BJP MP Narendra Sawaikar in 2014, said the Congress would win and the Aam Aadmi Party will not cross the 15,000-vote mark in the constituency.
BJP sitting MP Narendra Sawaikar, however, said the exit polls are an indicator of the mood of the electorate and exuded confidence of retaining the seat. “The exit polls have predicted the return of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The exit polls indicate what’s coming on May 23 and I am hopeful that the BJP will retain the South Goa seat,” he said, adding “My work during the last five years will keep me in good stead. I am confident of winning the seat.”
Incidentally, the BJP camp is hoping against hope that the AAP factor will restrict the projected lead of the Congress in minority Salcete, to give the party an advantage. Salcete taluka has recorded 1.63 lakh polling, where the BJP’s presence is restricted to the segments of Margao, Fatorda, Cuncolim and to some extent Margao.
Against this background, BJP leaders in private say that any major inroads made by AAP in Salcete will prove decisive in the final outcome, as it is opined that restricting the Congress’ lead in its bastion will go a long way in favour of the BJP.
Sitting MP Narendra Sawaikar, however, will have to grapple with the Dhavalikar factor in at least two key Assembly segments of Madkai and Sanvordem, which had in the 2014 election played a decisive role in ensuring victory for the sitting MP.
In fact, it is being pointed out that if Sawaikar had won the seat with a 32000-odd vote margin, around 23,000 of the total margin had alone come from Madkai and Sanvordem, indicating the importance these two segments hold for BJP win in the election.
