LS Polls: In Goa, BJP banks on ‘PM Modi’s charisma', Congress wagers on anti-government sentiment

Panaji: As the two Lok Sabha seats in Goa go to polls in the third phase of the general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “charisma”, while the INDIA bloc has made the state government’s failures in providing employment and corruption-free governance as its poll plank.

The North and South Goa constituencies will go to polls on May 7.

In North Goa, BJP’s five-time MP and Union Minister Shripad Naik will battle Congress’s Ramakant Khalap, and in the South Goa constituency, BJP’s first female candidate in Goa and businesswoman Pallavi Dempo will take on ex-navy officer and Congress candidate Viriato Fernandes.

“People want stability. They don’t want a khichdi (multi-party) government,” BJP Goa spokesman Yatish Naik said, expressing confidence about the party’s victory in both the seats.

“When they cast their votes, people need to consider who should lead the country for the next five years. Prime Minister Modi has given firm leadership to the country. He has become a world leader, and this is an important factor,” the BJP leader said.

Naik added that as far as infrastructure like public amenities is concerned, “people have seen the development under the BJP rule”.

“People want stability. They want a settled administration. The BJP will win both seats in Goa and cross the 400-mark in the country,” he said.

Goa Forward Party (GFP) general secretary Durgadas Kamat, however, claimed that even as voters haven’t expressed their discontent publicly, “a strong anti-government sentiment is brimming”.

The GFP is a partner in the INDIA bloc.

“The government has failed to address the basic issues like unemployment in the state. The state government has failed to resume the mining industry in the state and also has not provided corruption-free governance,” Kamat said.

The GFP leader added that the BJP government has also failed to fulfil the assurances made during the Goa assembly election.

“It is for the INDIA bloc to convert this sentiment into votes. I am sure that the two candidates of the alliance will win. The INDIA alliance candidate is getting overwhelming response for his campaign. The people are volunteering and attending the meetings,” he said.

The 2019 elections saw sitting MP Naik win the North Goa seat with 2,44,844 votes, defeating Congress candidate Girish Chodankar, while Congress’s Francisco Sardinha defeated BJP’s Narendra Sawaikar by a narrow margin of 9,755 votes in South Goa.

Naik, who has represented the North Goa seat in the previous five elections since 1999, is up against “strong resentment” this time, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) general secretary Sunil Kawthankar said.

“Naik has failed to perform for the last five terms due to which the people are looking at change,” Kawthankar said.

He also claimed that people, including the local BJP leaders, are having a hard time accepting Pallavi Dempo, the executive director of Dempo Industries, as she is not part of the party cadre. “There is resentment amongst the voters. The cadres are also not accepting Dempo because she does not belong to the cadre. She has been chosen by BJP high command and given ticket to contest from South Goa,” the Congress leader added.

The grand old party has put its hopes in Navy veteran Fernandes against Dempo. “Fernandes is an ex-navy man. He has the interest of the country at heart. He will win hands down in his constituency, considering the support he has been garnering,” Kawthankar said.