They were local heroes of 2012. Independent new faces, who did the job for the BJP by proxy, by unseating Congress heavyweights. While this story has been told, Herald micro analyses their performance in their home villages and asks, if this has dented their hold in their home bases
GUILHERME ALMEIDA
Legislators Avertano Furtado, Mickky Pacheco, Caitu Silva and Benjamin D’Silva or political heavyweight like Trinamool Congress leader Churchill Alemao could not prevent their forts from crumbling following the Congress surge in their respective constituencies. A glance of the election result shows that the Congress has made an impressive return in villages when it suffered a virtual rout not just in Goa, but across the country.
Varca village:
2012 Assembly Valanka (Cong) 1730 GVP 1132
2014 Lok Sabha Reginaldo (Cong) 1218 Churchill (TMC) 962
A bastion of the Alemao’s since he made his electoral debut in 1984, Churchill Alemao’s fort crumbled for the first time in his three-decade-old political career. Even though daughter Valanka had lost the 2012 Assembly election, she had emerged triumphant in Alemao’s home village of Varca, She led over her rival Caitu Silva in all the five polling booths. In 2014 Churchill led in just one out of five booths in Varca
Benaulim village:
2012 Assembly Congress 2483 GVP 3610
2014 Lok Sabha Congress 2817 BJP 1828
Caitu Silva had a clear lead of 1127 votes over the Congress. In fact, he had a lead over Valanka in 11 out of the 12 polling stations in Benaulim village. The Lok Sabha poll has seen exactly the opposite. Despite Benaulim being Caitu’s home village where he held corner and public meetings the Congress led in all the 10 booths. The BJP managed to take a lead over the Congress only in two booths, but the lead is considered negligible, with the party taking slender lead of two votes in one booth and 19 vote lead in the other.
Betalbatim village:
2012 Assembly Cong 512 GVP 1567
2014 Cong 1202 BJP 612
Betalbatim had literally been a fiefdom of flamboyant Goa Vikas Party supremo Mickky Pacheco since he began his political career in 2002. The impressive meeting arranged by Mickky at Nuvem to drum up support for BJP’s Narendra Sawaikar had indeed raised hopes that the Lotus would bloom in this Catholic dominated constituency. Mickky’s Betalbatim village preferred to go with the Congress to ultimately give Reginaldo an overall lead in the constituency.
Navelim village:
2012 Assembly Cong 2353 Avertano (IND) 2942
2014 Lok Sabha Cong 2531 BJP 1326
In the 2012 Assembly poll, Navelim village had rallied behind the sturdy built, but low profile local boy Avertano Furtado to stop Churchill Alemao’s plan to play yet another political innings from the constituency. Backed by the BJP and anti-Alemao forces, Avertano became a giant killer. Many thought that the BJP-Avertano combine would give a lead to Narendra Sawaikar in Navelim especially when the Congress barely managed to find workers to man polling booths in the constituency. But, Navelim stood behind the Congress, giving Reginaldo a comfortable lead of 1205 votes. In fact, the BJP could lead over the Congress only in one booth in Navelim village.
Ambelim village:
2012 Assembly Cong 602 Benjamin (IND) 1252
2014 Lok sabha poll Cong 1251 BJP 881
Ambelim village has traditionally been a stronghold of the Congress, before the villagers decided to shift their allegiance to Independent MLA Benjamin D’Silva in the 2012 Assembly polls. Benjamin had led over Filipe Neri of the Congress in Ambelim village by a comfortable margin of 650 votes. The ground reality, however, changed in the just concluded Lok Sabha poll. The Congress surge in his Catholic dominated village saw the BJP trailing by around 370 votes in Ambelim. In fact, the Congress is believed to have led in all the three polling booths in Ambelim village.
