Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) was once termed as a party that could hurt the ruling BJP but in the end the outfit was only capable of stealing 1.2 percent of the total vote share which did not affect much of the BJP vote share.
However, the party believes that their main aim was not to win any seats but steal the BJP vote share and in turn teach the party a lesson that the sangh should not be taken for granted. But with the party performing dismally in the recently concluded Goa Assembly elections, its future has become a big question: whether the party was just formed to teach BJP a lesson or will it strive hard to win the next election.
A look at the statistics released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) GSM and MGP together have managed to garner 12.9 percent votes in favour of them which accounts to nearly 1,13,821 votes out of the 11.10 lakh total number of voters in the state making it a crucial factor in splitting the votes which could have gone in favour of the BJP.
When asked about the future of GSM after failing to open an account, GSM President Anand Shirodkar said, “The future of GSM is bright and we will continue to contest elections in the coming years, there is no stopping, it’s not that the party was just formed to contest in the 2017 elections. It was formed keeping in mind the future. Our main aim to contest these elections was not to win any seat but to hurt the ruling BJP in terms of total vote share and we have been successful in doing so. We have managed to steal 10,745 votes which always used to go in favour of the BJP. If you see Sanquelim, GSM was runners up, so this is an excellent sign for the party as whole”
“We will contest in 30-35 constituencies in the next elections and the people of Goa have started thinking that GSM is the only alternative to the Congress and the BJP. We concentrated much on how to destroy the BJP other than winning and by doing this you cannot expect that the party will do miracles. We will continue to fight against the ruling party on the major issues for which our party was formed like the language issue. It is not that these elections are over and with that GSM as well BBSM will pack its bags and vanish, we are here to stay,” Shirodkar explained.
GSM, which contested five seats, had formed a pre-poll alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the Shiv Sena but eventually failed to make a mark. Party sources said that the outfit would continue to play a major role in the years to come and that there is no plan to the scrap the party.
“The party will come out strong in the next elections. For now, the party is planning to go against the ruling government focusing on various issues like power, water and language. Goa has to be self sustainable on water and power fronts. These issues will also be given priority along with the medium of instruction,” sources said.
