Margao will see a closely watched municipal poll.
MARGAO
With barely two months left for the Margao Municipal Council elections scheduled in May, the political battle is intensifying by the day. The Goa Forward Party’s “Blue Brigade” has already begun its campaign to take on the BJP’s “Saffron Brigade” in what is shaping up to be a high-stakes contest.
The outcome of the civic polls will not only determine which party controls the Margao Municipal Council but will also serve as a key indicator of the political strength of parties and leaders ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
For the first time in the last 17 years, the BJP will head into the municipal polls from a position of strength. The party is banking on PWD Minister Digambar Kamat and BJP state president Damu Naik to retain control over the civic body. On the other side, Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai is expected to spearhead the opposition campaign with the aim of preventing the BJP from returning to power in the council.
The Margao civic body currently comprises 25 seats. Of these, 11 seats fall within the Margao and Fatorda municipal areas, while three seats in the Housing Board area come under the Curtorim Assembly constituency. However, with the State Election Commission initiating the delimitation process of municipal wards, sources indicate that the total number of wards in Margao could increase to 27 for the upcoming polls.
BJP going to polls from a position of strength
One major factor boosting the BJP’s prospects is the return of Margao MLA Digambar Kamat to the party following the September 14, 2022 defection from the Congress. Records show that the BJP last won the Margao civic elections was two decades and half ago in 2000, when Kamat himself was part of the saffron brigade. Since 2005 when Kamat quit the BJP to embrace the Congress, the saffron brigade had to be content with the role of opposition in the Margao Civic body. For, the tactical alliance between Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai proved too much to handle for the BJP in the Civic polls.
With Kamat back in the BJP fold and former three-time Fatorda MLA Damu Naik now serving as the party’s state president, expectations are running high within the BJP that the party has a strong chance of winning the upcoming municipal elections.
In the previous four civic polls, the BJP failed to secure a majority, struggling to win enough seats either in Fatorda — the political stronghold of arch-rival Vijai Sardesai — or in Margao, considered Kamat’s turf, to form the council.
Much water has flown down the river Sal since 2022, post-Kamat return to the BJP. Unlike the opposition parties, the BJP now enjoys a presence across Margao and Fatorda, besides the three wards in the Housing board area, making the party a formidable force in the coming polls.
Political observers say Kamat is expected to make a strong push to secure a majority of seats in Margao. If the BJP can also win a few seats in Fatorda with the help of the party machinery under Damu Naik, the party could potentially form the council.
Can Goa Forward checkmate the saffron brigade?
The Goa Forward Party has already launched its campaign, beginning with a cleanliness drive spearheaded by party chief Vijai Sardesai.
Sardesai has expressed confidence that the party will win a majority of the 11 seats in the Fatorda municipal area. However, the Goa Forward chief faces a key challenge: securing additional seats in the Margao municipal area if the regional outfit hopes to return to power in the civic body.
This raises the crucial question of how the party plans to gain the required numbers from Margao to reach the majority mark. A seasoned campaigner, Sardesai is well aware that forming the council will be difficult without winning at least a few seats from the Margao municipal area.
In the 2015 municipal polls, the panel backed by Sardesai made a clean sweep in the Fatorda municipal area. In the 2021 election, the BJP made some inroads, as the party won a couple of seats, especially across the Scheduled Tribe belt of Borda and Agalli.
Political observers are now trying to gauge whether the Goa Forward chief will limit his focus to the Fatorda municipal area, field candidates in the Margao municipal area as well, or leave the 11 seats in Margao for other opposition parties to contest.
Congress, others yet to reveal strategy
Meanwhile, questions are being raised about how opposition parties—including the Congress, the Revolutionary Goans Party, and the Aam Aadmi Party—plan to approach the upcoming Margao civic polls.
The issue assumes significance for two reasons. First, it remains unclear whether these parties will contest the elections in an alliance. Second, there is speculation about whether they might leave the Fatorda municipal area to the Goa Forward Party and instead focus their efforts on the 11 seats in the Margao municipal area.
It is also uncertain how the Congress will manage to unite its various factions—including those aligned with Savio Coutinho and Chirag Naik—under a single banner to mount an effective challenge against the BJP.
