PANJIM: The battle lines have been drawn for the February 14 Assembly elections where 301 candidates will vie for the 40 seats. Interestingly, almost 40 per cent of the constituencies will see fights between heavyweights in the form of incumbent MLAs and ministers clashing with some of their former colleagues, apart from some key battles in Panjim and Calangute that will also be keenly watched.
Right from Mandrem in North Goa to Canacona in South, the denial of party tickets, handpicking of candidates and dozens of aspirants shifting loyalties in the run-up to the elections, due in two weeks, has turned into a battle field for some of the former and incumbent lawmakers, to prove their winnability – the prime factor considered for allotting tickets by parties, especially the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Such battles will occur in 16 constituencies – six in North Goa and 10 in South.
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In Mandrem, then chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar had lost to Dayanand Sopte in 2017. Sopte who defeated him was a Congress candidate, but now is the BJP candidate replacing Parsekar. Miffed by the party’s decision to ignore his claims for the seat, Parsekar resigned from BJP and is contesting as Independent.
After initial reluctance to contest on health grounds, Speaker Rajesh Patnekar has again thrown his hat in the ring from Bicholim. Patnekar will fight MGP’s Naresh Sawal, whom he had defeated in 2017. Sawal was MLA from 2012-17.
In Siolim, BJP has again shown faith in Dayanand Mandrekar, who faced defeat as a sitting Minister in 2017 from new entrant Goa Forward Party’s (GFP) Vinod Palyekar. As GFP was apparently reluctant in re-contesting from the constituency, Palyekar resigned as MLA and from the party, to contest as an Independent.
Aldona has a twist. Here, incumbent BJP MLA Glen Ticlo will have a clash with former BJP Tivim MLA Kiran Kandolkar. Kandolkar, current State president of Trinamool Congress (TMC), was BJP’s Tivim MLA from 2012-17. In 2017, he was defeated by then Congress and now BJP MLA and candidate Nilkhanth Halarnkar. Kandolkar has fielded his wife Kavita from Tivim.
TMC’s Victor Gonsalves, who had got elected in 1989 from St Cruz constituency, is in the ring this time against BJP MLA Antonio ‘Tony’ Fernandes.
Priol, which was traditionally a stronghold of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), had voted for Independent Govind Gaude who defeated Pandurang (Deepak) Dhavalikar, shocking all. Gaude, who has now joined BJP, held a cabinet berth from 2017 to 2021 will once again face Dhavalikar.
The much-talked about battle for Margao has former chief minister Digambar Kamat pitted against Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar. Ajgaonkar, who hails from Margao and has been a municipal councillor, has never represented the constituency before. His battleground has been Pernem, which he has represented twice. However, the anti-incumbency wave forced BJP to shift him to Margao to fight against Kamat, who has been representing the constituency since 1994.
Fatorda too will see arch rivals – Vijai Sardesai (GFP) and Damodar Naik (BJP) – battling it out for the third consecutive time. Damodar, fondly known as Damu, was legislator in 2007 and faced back-to-back defeats at the hands of Sardesai, who entered State politics in 2012 and went on to become Minister in 2017 before bring dropped by Pramod Sawant in 2019.
Marcaim, another MGP bastion cultivated by Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar since 1999, will witness yet another interesting battle as Dhavalikar will fight it out with his former party colleague and ex-MLA from Ponda, Lavoo Mamledar (Congress). He had won from Ponda in 2012 defeating heavyweight Ravi Naik.
Aam Aadmi Party‘s (AAP) Mahadev Naik is amongst those sitting Ministers who faced a humiliating defeat in 2017. He is set for battle against BJP MLA Subhash Shirodkar, who defeated him in the last election when contesting on a Congress ticket.
Nuvem and Canacona will go for a triangular fight between sitting MLA, ex-MLAs and former ministers. After being snubbed by the party, Canacona MLA Isidore Fernandes and ex-MLA Vijai Pai Khot (2012-17) are contesting as Independents against BJP’s ex-minister and candidate Ramesh Tawadkar. Nuvem too will see ex-ministers Aleixo Sequeira (INC) and Francisco Pacheco (NCP) clashing with ex-MLA of BJP and now Independent Wilfred D’Sa.
Dabolim, represented by minister Mauvin Godinho will now see him defending his seat against ex-Vasco MLA and NCP president Jose Philip D’Souza. This is the first time that D’Souza is contesting from Dabolim as against his traditional constituency of Vasco.
The anti-incumbency factor forced ex-minister Filipe Nery Rodrigues to contest on an NCP ticket from Velim. He will fight against former Independent MLA Benjamin Silva (2012-17).
Yet another anti-incumbency factor forced BJP to deny ticket to turncoat Deepak Pauskar (ex-Minister) in Sanvordem constituency. The party has fielded ex-MLA Ganesh Gaonkar.
Sanguem too will see ex-MLA and Congress candidate Prasad Gaonkar contesting against ex-MLA Subhash Phaldesai, who had lost the last election on a BJP ticket.
