GUILHERME ALMEIDA
gilu@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: The induction of GVP supremo Francisco (Mickky) Pacheco and independent Navelim legislator Avertano Furtado in the Parsekar cabinet is not just being viewed as an image makeover for the BJP vis-a-vis the minorities, but a calculated move to checkmate the Congress in its bastion of Salcete with the help of regional outfits and local satraps.
The move to fill up the remaining two cabinet slots with Catholic legislators from minority Salcete, coupled with Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar’s assertion that the party has given 33 percent representation to the minorities, indicates two things: One, the eagerness on the part of the saffron dispensation to damage control the negative publicity it received for leaving Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza out in the cold, and two, to position itself for the 2017 assembly polls with the help of local minority leaders in a taluka where the party’s presence is confined to just 2-3 seats.
The BJP leadership is well aware of the ground reality that Congress cannot form a government without a sweep in Salcete as is evident by the 2012 assembly poll result. And, the ruling party is equally aware that it has its own restrictions and limitations in a taluka dominated by the minority community, where the electorate is not averse to back minority-led outfits and independents from the community rather than the BJP. This was again evident by the results of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls where the BJP struggled way behind Congress in a majority of the assembly segments at stake.
It is also widely believed in political circles that by inducting GVP supremo Pacheco in the Parsekar cabinet, despite the criminal case pending against him in the Supreme Court, the BJP leadership has a brief for the Nuvem legislator to strengthen the regional outfit and take the Congress head on. The BJP leadership must be certainly hoping that the move will not only strengthen the GVP in Nuvem and Benaulim, but also help the BJP in constituencies such as Fatorda, Margao and Cuncolim by fielding candidates to split the secular voting and defeat the Congress. Last month, Pacheco had announced plans to expand the GVP and groom candidates in constituencies such as Fatorda – news that was welcomed by the BJP camp.
Again, it is widely perceived that while Pacheco is expected to take on the Congress and its leaders aggressively, Furtado’s sober image may be tapped to further corner the Congress in constituencies such as Navelim and Velim.
In the 2012 assembly poll, Furtado had rocked the Congress boat in Navelim with the overt backing of the BJP. With the BJP leadership keen on inducting Avertano in the cabinet, it has sent clear signals that the leadership is not in a mood to disturb the present arrangement in Navelim. Sources said a section of the BJP leadership has veered around the opinion that the Navelim legislator is the best bet for the party in a constituency which has for long been a Congress stronghold and at a time when Congress circles are abuzz with news that PCC president Luizinho Faleiro may make a return in Navelim in the 2017 assembly poll.
Says Margao-based lawyer, Adv. Cleofato Coutinho: “Yes, the BJP has decided to induct Mickky and Avertano with a definite purpose and as part of a long term plan to take on both the Congress and the MGP. We will have to wait and watch how the Congress responds to the move as BJP intends to take on the party in its traditional stronghold, Salcete.”
