MARGAO
Asserting that the BJP had no single name in its ranks to win the election for the South Goa seat, Goa Forward Chief Vijai Sardesai on Monday said that the BJP has now banked on the Dempo name since the Brand BJP is not as big as Brand Dempo in Goa.
Clearing the air on the stand of the Goa Forward party in the coming election, more so with the BJP fielding Pallavi Dempo as the candidate for South Goa, Sardesai questioned how can the party be with the BJP in the election. “Srinivas Dempo is my friend. Likewise, Srinivas must have friends in all political parties. That does not mean they will all come out and support Pallavi. Electoral politics is a different ball game”, he said.
The Goa Forward Chief said it is now clear that the BJP has fielded Pallavi for the reason that the party internal survey had shown that the party cannot win the South Goa sea in the name of the defectors and the corrupt government. “Hence, the party had brought Nari shakti in focus as a second option. But, it is clear that the party had no single name in its ranks who could win the LS election”, he said.
Conceding that Srinivas Dempo is his friend, Sardesai recalled that he and MGP supremo Sudin Dhavlikar had suggested to former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar to nominate Srinivas Dempo for Rajya Sabha from Goa.
Asked to shed light on the outcome of the Lok Sabha election for the South Goa seat, Sardesai it will all depend on how the BJP workers react to the decision to field Pallavi for the seat and the Congress candidate, adding “since the BJP has brought in a big brand, this is just the beginning”.
“The BJP gameplan appears simple though there is no chance for the BJP to win the seat, they are trying to take a chance. The party , however, seemed to have veered to the view that the Congress MLAs, who had defected to the BJP in the name of God cannot get the votes for the BJP”, he sad
Asked to shed light on his London visit beginning later this month, Sardesai said he is heading to London for a programme with the Goan Diaspora on Easter Day. “I should be back home by April 10. I want to make it clear that I am not running away from the coming election. I am not the type of person who would run away”, he asserted.
