TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2024
South Goa will face a battle of fresh young faces injecting zeal into the political ecosystem which has not had new energy on the table for many years.
In Pallavi Dempo and Viriato Fernandes, there are two candidates from the BJP and the Congress, who are young and not career politicians, both pitchforked due to a varied set of circumstances. She is a media owner and member of a Dempo Industrial family, while Viriato Fernandes is a Navy man.
Mrs Dempo officially got a head start as the Congress waited to declare its candidate and spent her first ten days after being named as the BJP candidate, undertaking a series of intensive visits to temples and churches with the Chief Minister, Sadanand Shet Tanavade and others.
Her convoy also included many defector MLAs, who loved “development”. During her campaign, Pallavi also spoke widely about the Prime Minister, his vision of progress and development, and his plans for the country.
Viriato Fernandes, on the other hand, is a people’s candidate and has been where the people have fought extensively on issues of Goa, and its identity.
The big question is this. The voice of the Goans has not been heard in Parliament for a long time, when Goans wanted their voices and their urgent concerns to be voiced in the highest office of democracy. Concerns such as the introduction of the Major Ports Bill, which became an act, taking away the authority of Goans and handing it over to the Mormugao Port caused deep and lasting impacts.
Will Goa get that voice? Who will he or she be?
But the people of Goa do know which of these they want- a green Goa or the Maharashtra model of development.
