MARGAO
Men and machinery seem working overtime at the Margao KTC bus stand ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Viksit Bharat rally scheduled on February 6. This is Prime Minister Modi’s second visit to the town in three months, the last time when he had flagged of the National Games from the Nehru stadium, Fatorda, indicating that the BJP is leaving nothing to chance in its bid to wrest the South Goa seat from the Congress in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls.
Just a stone’s throw away from the KTC bus stand, Congress Screening Committee led by Madhusudan Mistry went into a huddle with state Congress leaders, including GPCC chief Amit Patkar, Opposition leader Yuri Alemao, Congress Goa desk in-charge Manikrao Thakre and others, as the panel went about the job to shortlist party candidates and also draw the party’s strategy for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, with a clear mission to retain the South Goa seat.
Preparation for PM Modi’s rally in Margao and Congress’ exercise to screen probable candidates indicates one thing that both the ruling and the main opposition party are bracing up for the upcoming battle of ballots.
Incidentally, the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress seemed keeping their cards close to their chest vis-Ã -vis the choice of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. If sources are to be believed, the BJP is believed to have shortlisted four probable candidates, including ex-MP Narendra Sawaikar, former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, ex-Dy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar and former two-time MLA Damu Naik.
In the Congress camp too, names of four probable candidates are presently doing the rounds, including sitting four-time MP Francisco Sardinha, ex-GPCC chief Girish Chodankar, bureaucrat-turned-politician Elvis Gomes and Capt Viriato Fernandes. It is not out of place to mention here that the sitting four-time MP Francisco Sardinha has publicly staked his claim for the South Goa ticket, even as the remaining three claimants have emerged as challengers for the Congress ticket.
BJP’s determined bid in 2024
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second visit to Margao in three months may be seen as a well calculated move by the Party poll managers to create the fever in favour of the party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The party, however, intends to go into the election with a strong team irrespective who ultimately turns out the party candidate. Reason: As many as half the Cabinet of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant hail from South Goa, including heavyweights, Ravi Naik, Ramkrishna Dhavlikar (MGP), Subhash Shirodkar, Mauvin Godinho, Alexio Sequeira and Subhas Faldesai and not to forget Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar, besides Cong-turned-BJP MLA Digambar Kamat. Ruling party leaders in private says that these Ministers and other MLAs will certainly keep the party candidate in good stead in the coming election.
Congress banks on traditional vote
On the other hand, the Congress is expected to bank heavily on its traditional voters to help the party retain the seat. Unlike the BJP camp, which has a presence of a host of Ministers and MLAs from the district, including the defectors, the Congress will have to contend with just two MLAs in South Goa, including Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao (Cuncolim) and Quepem MLA Altone D’Costa.
On paper, the Congress appears strong, with the party winning the seat on a number of occasions in the last four decades with the BJP winning the South Goa seat only twice in the recent electoral history.
The Congress, however, has indeed an uphill task to match the firepower of the BJP machinery, with a host of Ministers and MLAs expected to take charge of the election in their respective segments.
Congress leaders, however, seemed banking on its traditional vote, including the core voter base, spread across the talukas of Salcete, Mormugao, Ponda, Canacona and Quepem.
Like in many a previous election, the Congress is expected to rely heavily on Salcete to give the party the much needed vote to keep the BJP at bay.
Congress- AAP seat sharing?
Notwithstanding public posturing by Aam Admi Party Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas that the Arvind Kejriwal party has winnable candidates to contest from South Goa, Congress leaders seemed clear there’s no question of the Congress surrendering the South Goa seat to any other party come what may.
In fact, Congress party leaders prefer to attribute Venzy’s statements to seat sharing negotiations between the Congress and AAP in other parts of the country. In the same vein, certain party leaders in private say the party may concede the North Goa seat to AAP in lieu of extending support to the Congress in South Goa.
The Congress, however, will have to again grapple with the Revolutionary Goans factor in the coming Lok Sabha polls. Having made deep inroads in the party’s core voter base, especially in Salcete, the RG has unveiled its party candidate for the South Goa seat.
As far as the Goa Forward party is concerned, party supremo Vijai Sardesai is on record saying the party will not contest the Lok sabha election nor take active part in the poll.
