Express News Service
PANAJI: As the high-decibel campaign for the February 14 elections to the Goa state assembly came to a halt on Saturday, the mood in both the BJP and Congress camps was upbeat. Most top leaders from both sides are confident of getting a clear majority but several political analysts assert with confidence that none of the parties will be able to cross the halfway mark in the 40-seat Goa assembly.
It’s not merely the Congress and BJP who have been involved in a marathon campaign attended by most of their political heavyweights from New Delhi, but the TMC-MGP and AAP also left no stone unturned to woo voters spearheaded by their top leaders.
Whether it is the Congress, BJP, TMC-MGP or AAP, all the parties had their own strategy and plans on how to reach out to the voters during the campaign trail. “Realising that victory of the party largely depended on the image and popularity of the candidates rather than the party symbol, the campaigns of all the political parties had been worked out wisely. And that is why most of the candidates in the fray are new and popular faces,” says MLA Abhay Patil.
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Political columnist from Panaji Suraj Nandrekar gives not more than 15 seats each to the BJP and Congress while predicting that the AAP will win at least four to five seats and the TMC one seat. He said the BJP and Congress had several rounds of effective campaigns and rallies in some select areas where the contest between the two has been neck-and-neck in the past.
Senior journalist Kishore Naik Gaonkar says the votes of Congress and BJP are expected to split badly with the presence of many smaller parties in the fray. “As to whether the division of votes will affect the Congress or BJP remains to be seen. If the TMC-MGP combine wins five seats and AAP two seats, one of the Congress or BJP which emerges as the single largest party may form the government. That is what I strongly predict,” Naik adds.
While BJP leaders attempted to ride on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity and the projects which the Centre sanctioned for Goa to attract voters during the campaign, Congress leaders targeted the ruling party by making the government’s failure to resume mining in Goa and the rising unemployment key election issues to woo the voters.
While admitting that the Congress was ready to correct the mistakes it committed in the past, Goa election in-charge of the party Dinesh Gundu Rao said the party had been able to reshape its image, ideology and vision to win the confidence of Goan voters.
BJP leader and former DCM of Karnataka Laxman Savadi, who stayed in Goa for several weeks of the campaign, predicts that the victory margin of many candidates in Goa will be thin. He said the BJP was in a strong position compared to all other parties and may win at least 18 seats.
Sitting Panaji MLA Atanasio Monserrate (Babush) of the BJP and sitting Calangute MLA Michael Lobo of the Congress are the key players for both the factions as their party leaders are relying on them to win some crucial seats in North Goa, sources said.
