Team Herald
PANJIM: Manohar (Babu) Azgaonkar’s sudden exit from the Congress and entry into the Maharastrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) on Sunday has come as a major blow to the Congress as he was a member of the Congress Pradesh Election Committee, which was in the final stages of finalising candidates for the 2017 Assembly elections.
But, it’s not just Congress that has been jolted. With MGP expected to field him in Pernem constituency – earlier a stronghold of the MGP – it is the BJP who has also gone into shock as Azgaonkar’s popularity in Pernem will hit its Environment Minister Rajendra Arlekar, who, political analysts say is losing his grip over the constituency.
Speaking to Herald, Azgaonkar said, “I definitely have an edge over the BJP and the Congress in Pernem. The pre-poll surveys show that MGP will win Pernem. The people of Pernem are with me, they are tired of the BJP and Congress as both parties are not working in the interest of the State. MGP is the only party which can protect Goa’s culture and identity.”
The immediate concern for the BJP is Arlekar’s elections. He has been struggling to keep his hold on the constituency. BJP sources said there are moves being made to retain the seat but the worries don’t end as new entrant Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) may grab a small portion of the BJP votes causing more damage to the party.
But, Arlekar portrays a winning stance. “With this my chances have improved in Pernem. I don’t want to comment on the surveys done that show that BJP is set to lose in Pernem, one has to know the ground reality. How many parties will Babu Azgaonkar shift? Because of this his credibility is lost,” Arlekar told Herald.
The voting trend in Pernem in the 2012 Assembly elections show that Azgaonkar as a Congress candidate lost by a huge margin of 8,353 votes to Arlekar who rode the BJP wave and had promised voters employment. This time Pernem voters are hoping for a change as Arlekar has not fulfilled promises made in the 2012 elections campaign.
Earlier, Azgaonkar had won from Dhargalim constituency for three consecutive terms that after delimitation was dropped. In 1999, he had won by 1096 votes by defeating BJP’s Balkrishna Dhargalkar. In 2002 he had contested on a BJP ticket and won by a margin of 5,762 votes and in 2007, he contested on a Congress ticket and won by a margin of 774 votes.
