TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Will the BJP manage to make inroads in Catholic-dominated Velim segment in Salcete or will the Churchill factor come in the way of the Congress taking an unassailable lead in this segment where BJP’s presence is considered negligible?
These questions have come to the fore exactly 10 years after former Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues’ bid to take the Lotus to the Velim electorate coming a cropper. In the 2004 Lok Sabha poll, Rodrigues ~ then Minister in the Parrikar regime ~ had vigorously campaigned for the BJP, but the party had managed to poll only 2,736 votes, conceding a comfortable lead to the
Congress.
The unprecedented turnout in Velim ~ around 20,869 to be precise ~ in the April 12 Lok Sabha poll has again raised the question whether the BJP would succeed in making a dent in this crucial segment, which in the ultimate analysis would make or mar the prospects of the Congress candidate.
On paper, the BJP has little presence in this minority-dominated segment. The party has a few pockets which had traditionally voted for the saffron candidates in the previous election. However, Congress leaders are wary of the role played by Independent MLA Benjamin D’Silva in supporting the BJP candidate, after initially deciding to take a neutral stand.
Congress leaders say the BJP on its own may succeed in garnering its traditional voters like in the past. They, however, say the prospects of the BJP candidate increasing its tally in Velim will largely depend on the role played by the independent MLA. The BJP’s strategy as far as Velim was simple. Garner as many votes as possible and neutralise the unassailable lead the Congress banks on Velim to add to the final tally.
But more than the BJP, the Congress camp had to contend with the Churchill factor. Velim is not new to Churchill, but political observers say the Trinamool Congress candidate is facing an uphill task to make inroads in the segment with the electoral battle polarised between the Congress and the BJP over the secular-communal debate.
Incidentally, unlike many an assembly segment in South Goa, wherein the Congress was left without any polling agents or workers to ferry the voters, the Velim Congress worked systematically as per plan, with the major players working for the success of the party candidate.
Congress leaders are jubilant over the huge turnout of the voters on Saturday hoping to garner major chunk of the votes. Party leaders in private admit that Velim constitutes an important segment as they eye for a huge lead by brushing aside the challenge posed by the BJP and the Trinamool Congress.
