All the political parties have historically looked at the slum dwellers as a vote bank but the question in Mapusa is; will the slum dwellers and migrant labourers have a great impact on the upcoming by polls 2019? Mapusa has always been witnessing an increase in the slum population which has now formed a sizeable chunk of the electorate. It is estimated that over 20 percent of Mapusa’s population today constitutes of migrants and hence the local authorities have been working towards improving the life of these people.
Out of the 30,000 odd voters in Mapusa nearly 5,000 are migrants who are being portrayed as game changers in electoral politics, especially to counter the local vote. Poltical pundits felt that it cannot be denied that the migrants play a decisive role in electing the representative to the Assembly. Since Goa has been an employment destination for migrants from Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Currently the migrants from Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are adding to the existing migrant population in the state.
Political pundits observed that the migrant population constitutes approximately 35 percent of Goa’s population.
Few of the areas where mini-slums are spotted in Mapusa are at Khadpavaddo, Xavier vaddo, Dangui colony, Baman vaddo, Acoi water tank, Peddem behind sulabh toilet, Feira Alta, St Sebastian vaddo, Laxmi nagar, and Ghateshwar Nagar.
The Mapusa BJP candidate and son of Goa’s late Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza, Joshua who has been given the BJP ticket for next month’s Mapusa Assembly by poll opines that every voter is important. “There is such rhetoric that is raked up each time during elections and it is being played for negative publicity. If you look at the past couple of elections the BJP has received tremendous support in Mapusa in each and every ward and based on the response I have been getting I’m fully confident that I will receive the same support for the upcoming by-elections. To me every voter in Mapusa is equally important, and I do not distinguish voters in that way,” said Joshua.
The Aldona Block President, Franky Carvalho told Herald, that all these years those living in the slum area have been voting for the Ex Mapusa MLA, Francis Dsouza. “We are confident that this year, these voters of Babush will now vote for the BJP candidate of Mapusa, Joshua. A lot of things have been done for these people that they will not forget. Sympathy will play an important role in this election and they also know they will get something as they are close to the family of Babush. There are around 4,000 to 5,000 migrant voters in Mapusa,” said Carvalho.
The North Goa District Congress President, Vijay Bhike opined that the slum voters will not affect the results of the Mapusa by polls. “There are barely 2,800 voters from the slum area and they will not have much impact on the by –polls. Two months back the number of overall voters in Mapusa was 29,750 and currently another 1,000 odd new voters should be included,” told Bhike.
The AAP candidate for the Mapusa by polls, Shekhar Naik told Herald that the slum voters will not have much of an impact or rather not affect the Mapusa by-polls. “Besides BJP, even AAP will get votes from the slum areas. The vote of these slum dwellers will not affect anyone in fact as their votes will be broken down. I have done a lot of their works as well. The slum area is based in Ekta Nagar and Cunchelim. Karaswada in Mapusa has had one of Goa’s highest numbers of slum dwellers for several years. Now mini-slums have been springing up all over Mapusa from time to time,” he told.
A social activist and local from Mapusa, John Lobo remarked that the former Mapusa MLA diluted the existing majority vani community in Mapusa by adding migrant population. “He added this migrant population to Mapusa for his benefit. He also increased the wards of Mapusa to increase his grip on Mapusa Municipality,” said Lobo.
Another local on condition of anonymity revealed that Mapusa has a total of 18 slum areas which are controlled by terror of slum lords influenced by the BJP till now. “The slum dwellers want to get rid of BJP because they want a life of dignity. They are forced to live in pathetic inhuman conditions. There are no roads inside, children study in government anganwadis or madrassas placed in huts, doctors do not go there and many more other things. These zopdis, huts are illegal and they want proper legal houses,” he said.
The former AAP candidate who contested from Mapusa constituency in February 2017, Shraddha Khalap stated that Mapusa is going in for a revolution. “Slums of Mapusa have joined the revolution. In this election the slums will be free of slum lords and Mapusa will become independent. Mapusa has a total of 18 slums as there is one in every municipal ward. BJP has been winning elections only because it controls these slums. There are over 8,000 slum dwellers in Mapusa itself and sadly these numbers are hidden from the public,” said Khalap.
