MARGAO
Can the non-BJP parties and individuals stop the saffron party juggernaut from retaining the Davorlim Zilla Panchayat seat which goes into the bypoll on October 16?
Or, will history repeat itself once again in 2022 and a split in the non-BJP votes ensure that the Lotus blooms in Davorlim for the third time in a row?
These and other questions are the subjects of debate in political circles in Davorlim as the countdown has begun for the October 16 bypoll necessitated by the resignation of Zilla Panchayat member Ulhas Tuenkar after his election to the State Legislative Assembly from the Navelim constituency.
The ruling BJP has set in motion the process of shortlisting party candidates for the bypoll. With former Davorlim ZP member Ulhas Tuenkar, now an MLA representing Navelim, sources said he along with party leadership is expected to zero in on the party candidate for Davorlim.
“We will finalise our candidate for Davorlim in a day or two. The party is having a meeting today, which is expected to discuss the candidate,” Tuenkar said when asked whether the party has zeroed in on Navelim Mandal president Paresh Naik for the seat.
The Congress, on the other hand, is putting its act together to take on the BJP in the bypoll. With no senior party leader in its ranks who enjoys influence over Davorlim, comprising Davorlim, Aquem-Baixo and Rumdamol, the second rung leaders led by South Goa district Congress committee Savio D’Silva and others are on the job to scout for the candidate.
Savio told The Goan that Congress has constituted a committee of local party workers on how to go about the selection of the candidate and finalise the poll strategy.
“We have a couple of candidates who are not averse to throwing their hat in the election ring. The party will shortlist the candidate,” he said.
Trinamool Congress party Navelim Block President Leon Raikar’s decision to quit the primary membership has triggered speculations that he may join Congress to contest the election on the Hand symbol. While confirming that he would contest the October 16 Davorlim bye-poll, Leon, however, has maintained that he will take a call on which party to contest the election after consulting his workers and supporters.
Sources in Davorlim political circles say that the presence of former sarpanch Sahar Sheikh in the fray for the October 16 bypoll is not ruled out.
The Aam Aadmi Party, sources said, has almost finalised former Aquem-Baixo sarpanch as the party candidate for the bypoll. A senior AAP leader pointed out that the party will officially announce the party candidate in a day or two.
In the 2020 Zilla panchayat for Davorlim, sources pointed out that a split in the non-BJP vote had cost the Congress with BJP's Tuenkar retaining the seat by a margin of 1,593 votes.
The BJP had maintained to retain the seat primarily due to a split in the opposition, with the share of the non-BJP vote going in favour of as many as four candidates.
While Ulhas had polled 3,610 votes, the non-BJP vote was split amongst as many as four candidates, including Congress' Murtuza Kuknoor (2,017 votes), Abdul Kadir (1,332), Floriano Fernandes (1,097) and Socorro Gomes (1,463) were the other candidates, who together polled around 5,500-plus votes, benefiting the BJP candidate, who retained the seat.
