PANAJI
Four of the five assembly segments of Tiswadi which are part of the North Goa Parliamentary seat which its candidate Shripad Naik won handsomely for a record sixth time in a row, are represented by MLAs of the ruling Bharatiya Janata party.
Yet, Naik who defeated the Congress' Ramakant Khalap by an overall lead of a massive one-lakh plus votes, could manage just 5,000-odd votes collectively in these five Tiswadi assembly segments.
Political analysts say it is a clear "don't take us for granted" message from voters to these legislator-leaders -- Babush Monserrate (Panaji) and his wife Jennifer (Taleigao), Rudolf Fernandes (St Cruz) and Rajesh Phaldesai (Cumbharjua) -- the last two named, turncoats, who had won their respective seats on Congress tickets in the 2022 hustings.
In Panaji for instance, local MLA and Revenue Minister Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate also dominates the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) which delivers the goods to the people on the ground. Yet, Naik managed to score a lead of just 2,000-odd votes when it typically used to get between 3,500-4,000 votes margin in all his previous elections. In Taleigao too, where his wife Jennifer is a third-term MLA, Naik's lead dwindled to under 2,000 votes.
In St Cruz and Cumbharjua, Rudolf's and Phaldesai's party-hopping act seems to have not gone down well with the electorate. Counting of votes in these two assembly segments revealed stunning results: In St Cruz, Congress' Khalap got a nearly 1,000-vote margin while in Cumbharjua he trailed by just 300-odd votes. Interestingly, Cumbharjua is where Shrpad Naik resides and where he has always scored a lead of 2,000-plus votes in past elections.
