TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: The dust raised over the rebellion by Congress heavyweights Churchill Alemao and Francisco Sardinha has not yet settled down, but battle line for the April 12 Lok Sabha polls for South Goa appears narrowing down to secularism as the D-day draws nearer.
Burning issues seem to have been relegated to the background for the moment and the single issue that has taken centre stage in the constituency, especially in Salcete, is secularism. Many a voter in the minority heartland of Salcete say the Modi factor will play a major role in the coming election for the South Goa Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency both for the Congress and the BJP.
Political analysts said the Congress is expected to go all out and tap the anti-Modi sentiments to its advantage, especially in the 12 assembly segments of Salcete and Mormugao talukas – the home of minority Catholic community.
On the other hand, the BJP, too, is expected to polarise the vote taking advantage of the Modi factor, especially against the backdrop of resentment brewing amongst the party core voter base on a host of issues, including mining and the style and functioning of the Parrikar regime.
The South Goa Lok Sabha constituency comprises 20 assembly segments, of which 12 segments fall in the two talukas of Salcete (8) and Mormugao (4). The remaining eight segments are spread across the hinterland talukas of Ponda (3), Quepem (2), Sanguem (2) and Canacona (1).
Political parties bracing up to contest the coming poll for South Goa, apart from the Congress and the BJP, includes new entrant the Aam Admi Party (AAP), Goa Su-Raj party, besides the Communist Party of India. Following a rebellion in the Congress party, all eyes are focussed on former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao and Francisco Sardinha’s son Shallom since they have disclosed plans to contest the coming polls as independent candidates. It is a sheer coincidence that BJP candidate, Narendra Sawaikar, CPI nominee Raju Mangueshkar, AAP candidate Swati Kerkar and independent candidate Govind Gawde all hail from Ponda taluka.
Significantly, the two Salcete-based regional outfits – Goa Vikas Party and the United Goans Democratic Party – are not expected to throw their hat in the ring this time around.
The South Goa Lok Sabha seat has never been won by a candidate other than anyone from Salcete over the decades. The seat has been a stronghold of the Congress party, except in 1996 when UGDP’s supremo Churchill Alemao stopped Congress’ winning streak and in 1999 when the Lotus bloomed in South Goa for the first time.
Amongst the two major players, the Congress and the BJP, the BJP kicked off its campaign ahead of the Congress, with the party re-nominating Narendra Sawaikar for South Goa. Since then, the party has not looked behind, having made its presence across six talukas, positioning itself well ahead of the final battle.
The Congress, on the other hand, is slowly coming to terms and is getting its act together after the initial hiccups, hit by ticket fiasco and rebellion. The party is yet to make its presence felt in the constituency in a big way so far, with party candidate Reginaldo Lourenco launching his campaign from his home village of Curtorim.
On paper, the BJP enjoys an advantage over other parties in terms of organisational capabilities, with the ruling combine enjoying the support of as many as 14 of the 20 MLAs. Unlike the 2009 Lok Sabha polls when the Congress was ruling the state, the party this time enjoys the support of as many as five MLAs in minority Salcete. This time around the BJP appears making concerted efforts to woo the people of Salcete with issues such as special status and dual citizens for Goa dear to the heart of the minority community.
The picture is not too rosy for the Congress party. Hit by the delay in announcing the candidate and the rebellion within the party, the Congress will have to contend with the Churchill and Sardinha factors and not to mention the Mauvin factor. Both Congress and BJP are closely watching Churchill’s moves, as he has threatened to contest the poll. Three-time MP Sardinha on the other hand has called upon his workers to teach the Congress a lesson and has given blessings to son Shallom’s plan to contest the polls as an independent candidate.
Amongst the issues that are expected to come to the fore in the run up to the elections is Goa’s demand for special status, besides dual citizenship. The contentious issue of Mopa airport which had virtually created a north-south divide is expected to take centre stage. The mining issue is likely to dominate the mining belt of Sanguem, Dharbandora and Quepem talukas. With large number of mining-dependent people hit by mining closure, political parties of all hues are expected to woo the electorate in these hinterland talukas with early resumption of legal mining.
As on January 1, 2014, South Goa has around 5,35,814 electorate, with 2,67,776 males and 268038 females.
