Goans’ love for BJP to be put to test on Valentine's Day

Goa will vote on Valentine’s Day this year and what will be put to test is its love for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been in power in the tiny coastal state for the past 10 years.

As the D-Day draws closer, the election spotlight appears to have veered away from the relatively new players in the state’s political arena like the Aam Aadmi Party and the Trinamool Congress, with the ruling BJP and the Congress once again emerging as the two horses leading the race to power in Goa.

The February 14 assembly polls will see the BJP contesting all the 40 seats for the first time in the state assembly elections. But the BJP’s decision to dip their fingers in all the constituency pies, need not necessarily be construed as a measure of confidence within its ranks.

The ruling BJP had won just 13 seats with a vote share of 32.48% in the 2017 state assembly elections. The BJP had a lacklustre performance despite the fact that the state’s former Chief Minister and the party’s chief strategist, Manohar Parrikar, was the Union Defence Minister at the time and at the forefront of its election campaign.

Also Read | Congress will cross majority mark in Goa, act immediately to form government: Rahul Gandhi

Ahead of the 2022 state assembly elections, however, the BJP appears to be weighed down, not only by the anti-incumbency factor, but also the raging dissent within the party over ‘imported’ candidates.

The absence of Manohar Parrikar, who passed away in 2019, is being felt by the party, which has been left red-faced with a series of rebellions. The most high-profile rebels are Parrikar’s own son Utpal and former Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, who are contesting the Panaji and Mandrem assembly seats, respectively, as independent candidates. According to BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis, the party had not discarded Utpal, but the son of the late leader himself had quit it.

“Utpal Parrikar was not denied a ticket. We have given him the option to contest in two constituencies. One of them was a traditional BJP bastion, but he wanted to contest from Panaji in particular. He rejected both assembly constituencies. We are sad that he is not with us,” Fadnavis said.

The Congress, which had won 17 seats in 2017, was pushed into a desperate corner, as 15 of its MLAs left it over the past five years. The party is now contesting for 37 assembly seats and appears to have found a fresh burst of energy ahead of the final leg of campaigning, with 80% of its candidates being new faces. It has allied with the Goa Forward Party.

“The Congress has adapted to the demands of the people. We have given 80% tickets to the newcomers, we have kept defectors at bay and ensured that traitors within the party are thrown out,” claimed state Congress president Girish Chodankar.

Also Read | Modi distracting people of Goa from real issues: Rahul

The Congress also allotted a large chunk of tickets to new faces, because its old guard jumped ship in scattered bunches not just to the BJP, but other parties too like the Aam Aadmi Party and the Trinamool Congress.

While the AAP and the TMC, with their aggressive political recruitment and social media presence, had threatened to make considerable inroads into the anti-BJP vote share, the two parties appear to have gone off the boil in the final stretch of the campaign. Both parties seem to have the edge in one or two constituencies out of the 40 assembly constituencies which go to poll.

The AAP and the TMC, however, can claim credit for setting the tone for the 2022 assembly election campaign, thanks to the long list of freebies, which the two parties sought to lure the voters with. The AAP is going into the polls alone, while the TMC is in alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party led by the wily Dhavalikar brothers, Sudin and Deepak.

While the AAP promised free electricity, unemployment doles to voters, the Trinamool Congress followed suit with unemployment doles as well as financial doles for women and low interest loans for youth.

Also read: Modi targets Nehru, Congress over delayed liberation of Goa

The freebie bonanza frenzy initiated by both parties, also forced the mainstream parties, the Congress and the BJP, to make similar promises. The Congress has promised to extend the Nyay scheme which allocates Rs. 6,000 per month to economically backward families, the BJP has promised three LPG cylinders free-of-cost to domestic consumers annually.

The other dark horse in the fray is the nativist Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP), which is making its debut in the elections. Founded by 37-year-old Manoj Parab, the outfit has made preservation of Goan identity as its main poll plank based on key poll promises like reservation of land and jobs for native sons of the soil.

Set against the backdrop of unemployment, the RGP, which has gained sizeable traction in both the Hindu and Catholic youngsters, is contesting in 38 assembly seats. While the party does not appear to have gained the critical mass to win seats, its maiden presence has triggered anxiety over which mainstream party’s vote bank it is likely to breach.

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