In Cortalim constituency the total numbers of voters are about 29,000 of which 11,000 are from the state’s biggest slum in Zuarinagar of which a majority are migrants. Their votes decide the faith of political leaders from Sancoale Panchayat as well as the Cortalim assembly constituency. At Zuarinagar the largest number of migrants is from Karnataka state and majority of them belong to the Lamani community. Many of them have their ration cards, election id cards and AADHAR cards made in the state. Similarly a majority of those migrants who come to Goa and settle in Zuarinagar slums or at Mangoor slums first want to obtain voter ID cards in order to avail facilities rendered by the government and those during the elections.
“Since the political leaders cannot avoid these migrant votes as these slum votes are their vote bank, politicians extend all help to the new settlers in obtaining a new voter ID cards, ration card, Aadhar cards etc. later these documents are used to get government schemes and importantly DSS pension scheme,” said Malappa Chalvadi, a resident of Zuarinagar slum.
In the 2017 assembly elections incumbent Cortalim MLA Alina Saldanha won by a narrow margin of 518 votes of which over 4000 votes were from Zuarinagar slums. Similarly in Vasco constituency MLA Carlos Almeida got a total of 8765 votes of which 30 percent votes were from migrants. The voting patterns in the 2007 assembly elections show the voters from Zuarinagar slums as congress voters as they helped elect Congress Candidate Mauvin Godinho. In the 2012 assembly polls Zuarinagar slum voters shifted side and voted for BJP Candidate Mathany Saldanha as he had prepared a separate manifesto only for Zuarinagar slums. Even in the 2017 assembly polls voters from Zuarinagar slums voted for BJP candidate and got late Mathany’s wife Alina Saldanha elected with the belief that BJP would surely fulfill its poll promise and importantly to provide rehabilitation and other basic amenities in their slum that is currently state’s biggest slum.
Respecting to the sentiments of Zuarinagar Slum dwellers and to help these migrants and other constituents closely Saldanha closed down her constituency office at Cansaulim and started operating from a rented office building which is located close to Zuarinagar slums. Today she has been even also making grounds to fulfill rehabilitation promise made by her to these migrants and if she becomes successful then she might get even more votes from Zuarinagar slums. On one hand more and more Goans are moving abroad in a search for better opportunities, on the other hand the migrant’s inflow into the state from the neighboring states of Goa is growing every year.
A senior officer from Mormugao Mamlatdar office said many of these voters were actively using their voting rights in Goa as well as their place of origin and this trend had been visible for the last several elections.
