CANACONA: With just over a week left before Goa votes to elect two parliamentarians for the next five years, both Congress and BJP, among the serious contenders for South Goa are trying their level best to convince the voters from the southernmost taluka of Goa to vote in their favour.
With Canacona having an incumbent MLA from Congress party, it is expected that Francisco Sardinha would definitely have an edge over the sitting MP Narendra Sawaikar.
However, with the BJP karyakartas putting a last ditch concerted effort and former minister Ramesh Tawadkar returning to BJP, locals behind the scene are predicting a slight edge in favour of Sawaikar this election as of now.
With about 35,000 registered voters in Canacona, both BJP and Congress are taking the taluka seriously; as of now, it looks like both are on equal footings as the supporters of both the parties say that they would get about half of the total votes that would be polled.
Canacona, a remote taluka has recorded close to 80% voting in the past and it won’t be anything different this time.
Elvis Gomes contesting on Aam Admi Party ticket with no much base, is not going to be a force to reckon with amongst the voters from the taluka while M K Kankonkar an independent from Agonda, a village in Canacona being a local is hopeful that he would get sizeable votes.
Kankonkar is fighting the election on the platform of youth power, corruption, destruction of Goa and pollution due to coal handling at Vasco.
“My symbol is football and I am expecting football loving Goans to support and vote for my candidature,” Kankonkar emphasized while talking briefly with this correspondent.
With election commission strictly enforcing model code of conduct, the candidates and their party workers are employing ground level contacts as motor rallies, public address system instruments and other high-fi electioneering propaganda to influence voters are under the direct scanner of election commission it is stated.
With no much scope for high profile electioneering BJP’s committed karyakartas are seen visiting each and every house in the seven panchayats and lone municipality of Canacona distributing copies of their manifesto which lists the work done along with what they plan to do in next five years.
Congress is not far behind, as local MLA Isidor Fernandes who knows most of the voters in the constituency is personally undertaking corner meetings with the help of the Congress block level members from Canacona.
For everyone in Goa, Canacona may be a taluka with low level of literacy compared to other talukas of the State but as far as political knowledge is concerned they are on equal footing as the joints, chai and barber shops, and public places in the entire taluka turn out to be meeting points to discuss, debate and decide whom to vote for and whom not to vote for as election date draws nearer and nearer.
