NESHWIN ALMEIDA
neshwin@herald-goa.com
While six times Margao MLA Digambar Kamat has been fighting his past and the multiple cases from Louis Berger to Illegal Mining, 2016-2017 proved lucky for Digambar and his legal team, which managed his anticipatory bail. But politically in Margao, there seems to be little done by the Opposition to destabilize the MLA.
It may be recalled that in 2016 on the campaign trail the then Defence Minister and now CM of Goa, Manohar Parrikar himself actually turned his back on the crowd and turned towards Margao’s BJP leaders and said the people seem united in Margao but you have to unite as BJP leaders to bring a change.
But Bhai Naik BJP’s main man and son of former Margao MLA Babu Naik has taken a complete step back and say he has no intentions of contesting polls from Margao and says that he’s retired from active politic even before starting out his career. This could be confirmed from the camaraderie and dais he shared with Digambar recently at the Annual Babu Naik Memorial Cricket Tourney.
“When BJP denied me the ticket and chose three-time losing candidate in Sharmad Raiturkar, its since then I have decided to completely renounce politics and wanting to contest polls and I am on the sidelines as an ordinary BJP worker,” explains Bhai Naik while he says Digambar is an old friend and nothing else. However, they are at least politically “comfortable” with each other if not politically close. With this development, there are no real takers to stand up as an Opposition to Kamat.
Meanwhile, Sharmad Raiturkar who has unsuccessfully contested three polls against Digambar himself has washed himself away from Margao politics by stating that the BJP State Unit has entrusted its Yuva Morcha or rather youth wing across Goa in his custody and his focus is there and not Margao anymore.
Two time Fatorda MLA and now former Fatorda MLA, Damu Naik himself has been visiting orphanages and old age homes in Pajifond and Malbhat to celebrate Parrikar and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birthday but the former MLA denies interest in Margao constituency and downplays his movement by saying that these homes lay on the border of Fatorda-Margao constituency and he has no plans to take on Digambar Kamat though he has been vocal of the former CM delimiting Margao and Fatorda to tailor his needs for a vote bank.
On the other hand, Goa Forward is looking to spread out from its bastion of Fatorda and is keeping an eye on Margao, but it isn’t quite taking on Digambar Kamat seriously yet. “Margao is very near to our bastion of Fatorda. We have decided to not neglect the constituency, since our panel is ruling the Margao municipality and over a period of time since we’re setting our eyes on all 40 constituencies of Goa. We will expand in Margao eventually but not right yet,” explains Prashant Naik, spokesperson of Goa Forward party.
The Goa Forward has not attacked Kamat and even during this troubled times as he was summoned repeatedly by the Crime Branch, the Goa Forward did not a make a single statement against him.
Thus Margao’s Captain cool may have suffered quite a few knocks legally in the Lotus Berger and the illegal mining cases but his political bastion is not yet dented. And unless there is a tangible ground shift, the politics of Margao, in 2018 is unlikely to alter.
