VASCO
Mormugao taluka does not have a dearth of registered voters who are from diverse communities and different states, but finding them in the taluka and getting them to vote has always been a challenge for local leaders.
This was evident as all four constituencies fared below South Goa’s average voter turnout of 76.06% on Tuesday.
And so, the task was clear before the parties concerned right from the beginning: To have as many leaders as possible to contact the voters present and get them to vote for the party.
The BJP can be satisfied that its three BJP MLAs and one independent MLA, who is supporting the BJP, had achieved this target, having moved across the length and breath of the taluka to mobilise as many voters as possible.
On the other hand, the Congress had faced an uphill task to find a sufficient number of leaders to galvanise its voters in Mormugao taluka.
The dearth of Congress leadership in Mormugao taluka and the challenge to woo voters is likely to be the deciding factor in the outcome of Tuesday’s elections.
MORMUGAO
Mormugao constituency led by Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar saw a large voter turnout of 74.37 percent, with around 15,123 people exercising their franchise.
Mormugao, which is the tail end constituency has always been the bastion of the BJP and was represented three successive by the BJP MLA and former minister Milind Naik till 2022 when Sankalp Amonkar won on the Congress ticket, but later joined the BJP.
Amonkar had been very vocal from the start that BJP would secure 80 percent of the vote share and efforts led by CM Pramod Sawant were made to reach out to the sizeable Congress voters in wards 7, 8 and 9 of Mormugao municipality, which form part of Mormugao constituency.
Sawant also met up with former minister Milind Naik and the seven councillors affiliated to him, gaining their full support in the process.
The picture was quite different for the Congress in Mormugao constituency especially after Amonkar joined the BJP, as the Congress struggled to find locals leaders to mobilise its voters.
Such was the state of the Congress in Mormugao, that at many places they were almost no agents seen on their tables to help voters on election day.
VASCO
In Vasco constituency, the challenge has always been to get voters present and residing in the port town to exercise their franchise and so, a three percent increase in the voter turnout from the 2019 polls would have satisfied the BJP.
Vasco has traditionally been a mix bag of voters, with many people being natives of different states but settled in Vasco.
While the voter turnout of Vasco may seem very low, statistics suggest that the BJP managed to fare better than the 2019 Lok Sabha elections even though the voter turnout of 68.42% on Tuesday was the lowest in South Goa.
While many felt that Vasco could have achieved a higher voter percentage, political analysts have felt Vasco constituency fared better than the previous election in 2019.
According to Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar, the constituency saw the highest number of voters in the Taluka but suffered a setback due to the wedding season.
Salkar sought to explain the factors for the low voter turnout.
Vasco typically sees low voter turnout, previously at 65%, now up to 68.4%. It has a diverse population, with residents from states like UP, Karnataka, Kerala, and West Bengal, totaling 14,000 migrant voters. Additionally, around 2,000 migrants are away for weddings. Some 2,000 Navy voters, often absent, further affect turnout. Lastly, some Vasco residents are touring or on pilgrimage.
Salkar was, however, satisfied with the voter turnout and was confident that the BJP would get around 17,000-plus votes.
DABOLIM
It was the battle for supremacy in Dabolim constituency, especially since the South Goa Congress candidate Captain Viriato Fernandes is from Dabolim and had even contested against Panchayats Minister Mauvin Godinho at the last assembly elections.
Dabolim constituency managed to achieve a voting turnout of 72.65% with 19,295 people cast their vote, but considering the intense political rivalry between Capt Viriato and Mauvin, the vote share between Congress and BJP in Dabolim could directly decide the strength of hold in Dabolim constituency between Fernandes and Godinho.
Among all four constituencies in Mormugao, the Congress had the greatest presence in Dabolim constituency and supporters of both Capt. Viriato and Mauvin were seen mobilising the voters and persuading them to vote.
CORTALIM
Cortalim constituency has been represented by an independent candidate Anton Vas who presently supports the BJP government, but the turnout of 72.16 percent voting in the constituency cannot be attributed to Vas.
The constituency has a coastal belts of Velsao and Cansaulim which has been a Congress stronghold with a strong affiliation towards Olencio Simoes, who is also a member of Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott, a strong association of traditional fishermen.
While the Congress was recently strengthened after former MLA Alina Saldanha joined the Congress, Simoes and his supporters have put in a lot of hard work to canvass for the Congress and many a votes could favour the Congress in coastal belts, especially in the wake of massive agitation over the railway double-tracking issue.
However, the BJP was not far behind in appeasing aggrieved leaders and took some damage control measures in Cortalim by bringing in former Sancoale sarpanch and Zuarinagar heavyweight Girish Pillai in the party.
The BJP also managed to rope in the longest serving Sancoale Sarpanch Ramakant Borker on board to garner votes for the BJP.
The BJP also has a strong mandal and the BJP public meeting in the constituency with PM Narendra Modi addressing tens of thousands of people could further boost the vote count for the BJP.
While there could also be a silent vote factor that could play a major role in favour of the Congress, the personal connect of MLA Anton Vas with the farming community and his loyal supporters could also help BJP get a significant lead in Cortalim.
