The BJP reportedly aims to win 30 of Goa’s 40 Assembly seats in the 2027 elections, focusing particularly on vulnerable constituencies in Salcete. The party won 20 seats in 2022, after which eight Congress MLAs defected to the BJP to enjoy their ‘acche-din’. The only way the BJP can reach its ambitious target is by allegedly backing Congress rebels, particularly in Salcete, and propping up a new opposition party by roping in disgruntled former Congress leaders to divide anti-BJP votes and confuse voters, especially Congress supporters. The BJP has achieved no remarkable success to justify its ambition of winning 30 seats. Instead, its prolonged rule has damaged Goa in the name of development, with land increasingly falling into the hands of builders and outsiders at the expense of Goans and their peaceful way of life. Everything has an expiry date, including the BJP government. Supporters may disagree, but if the ruling party has failed to deliver meaningful benefits to Goans, the 2027 election will expose its true standing.
JERRY FERNANDES, Saligao
