PANAJI
On Tuesday, when Goa's voters in North Goa cast their votes electronically they not only sealed the fate of the contesting candidates, primarily the BJP's Shripad Naik, India-Congress' Ramakant Khalap and Revolutionary Goans Party's (RGP) Manoj Parab -- but the power of their votes and verdict, which will be known on June 4, will have also impacted the fortunes and future of several of Goa's 'bahubali' politicians.
On the ruling BJP's side, apart from Shripad Naik, who will know whether he has got a sixth stint as North Goa MP or hurtled towards the party's 'Margdarshak Mandal', the June 4 results will also have a bearing on other leaders and impact the high stakes tussle between their top two guns -- Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the number two in his cabinet Vishwajit Rane.
While publicly the Sawant-Rane duo have established an uneasy, working equilibrium between themselves, the tussle between the two for the top slot post the 2022 assembly election results which delayed the formation of the new government by nearly a month, could potentially get revived by facets of the June 4 result.
Sattari dynamics
The phenomenal voting turnouts in the hinterland Sattari taluka from where both Sawant and Rane hail and wield maximum influence, have for now kept both the leaders in good stead. However, when the results come on June 4, finer details like the margin between Shripad and his competitors and some other facets in Sawant's Sanquelim, Rane's Valpoi and his wife Deviya Rane's Poriem will be analysed with a fine-tooth comb.
Stakes will indeed be high for both Sawant and Rane in what the voter of Sattarri has spoken with their choices and voting patterns.
The Monserrates' footprint
In Central Goa's Tiswadi taluka, another political strongman will be counting his successes and shortcomings, if any, when the EVM counts come by on June 4 -- Revenue Minister Atanasio (Babush).
Monserrate is known to have a footprint in at least three of the five Tiswadi assembly constituencies -- Panaji which he currently represents, his wife's Taleigao and to a certain extent St Cruz which he represented for the 2012-17 term. The diminutive politician has travelled in and out of three political parties growing in stature along the way and how this Lok Sabha election results pan out in his geographical area of influence, will have a huge bearing on his position in the melee of Goa's political powerplay.
St Cruz: Stakes high for Rudolf, AAP's Palekar
Once dominated by his mother, the late Victoria Fernandes, St Cruz could either make or break the political future of current MLA, Rudolf Fernandes, who struggled for a decade to make the 'legislator' grade eventually succeeding on the third attempt on a Congress ticket in 2022. The constituency is known to be a Congress stronghold with the party always leading at the Lok Sabha hustings there.
This time, however, Rudolf faced resentment for his switch to the BJP and hsa the added factor of a spirited ground campaign on behalf of INDIA-Congress' Khalap by AAP State president, Amit Palekar, who wields influence in the Merces-Chimbel belt and Congress' ZP member Shiny Oliveira and her Sarpanch-mom in St Cruz village.
The RGP and Manoj are another factor. The regional outfit does have a toehold here, groomed by its leader Ajay Kholkar.
The May 7 Lok Sabha poll has therefore been a huge challenge for and would be a huge achievement for Rudolf if he scores the numbers on June 4 with all these odds stacked against him and the BJP.
Manoj, Viresh and RGP
Affected by the concerted campaign of all and sundry which painted them as 'spoilers' the RGP's Manoj Parab and their lone MLA of St Andre, Viresh Borkar faced an acid test this election.
When results come in on June 4, the numbers that come out will be crunched to gauge the political strength of this fledgling, regional political party and whether it has retained the sparkle it displayed at the 2022 assembly elections.
In St Andre, for instance, a lead for Manoj would be a huge statement and could buttress the RGP and Borkar's hold on the constituency, given that his predecessor and bete-noire, Francis Silveira, remains politically active and led a strong ground campaign in favour of BJP's Shripad Naik. The constituency is also known to have a strong Congress voter base, although its ground organisation there is in shambles.
The result in the St Andre assembly segment could therefore make or break the spirit of Borkar and his RGP there.
