Arpita Srivastava
Mapusa: Bardez has been a BJP stronghold for more than two decades as far as parliamentary elections are concerned.
Currently, the BJP has six MLAs out of the seven in Bardez taluka. Of these, three—Michael Lobo (Calangute), his wife Delilah (Siolim), and Kedar Naik (Saligao)—were elected on the Congress ticket in the February 2022 assembly elections. They joined the BJP along with five others in September 2022.
Congress has only one MLA, Carlos Ferreira (Aldona).
Candidates in the fray include five-time MP and BJP candidate Shripad Naik, senior Congress leader and former Union minister Ramakant Khalap, youth leader and RGP candidate Manoj Parab, and five others.
In 2014, the BJP had a lead of 33,866 votes in Bardez, which dropped to 10,953 in 2019 when the opposition had four MLAs in the taluka.
The BJP has well-oiled machinery. There initially seemed to be some resentment against the ruling party amongst its cadre, but that appears to have been taken care of by its leadership.
On the other hand, Congress is not only running against time due to the delay in announcing its candidate but also needs to galvanise its workers to put up a tough fight in Bardez.
Naik is a mass-based leader and is popular in Bardez. Khalap, too, is known to people in this taluka. However, whether the voter will be influenced by the charges levelled against him by BJP leaders with regards to the Mapusa Urban Cooperative Bank of which he was chairman is to be seen. Khalap has also been out of electoral politics for 17 years.
A weak Congress organisation is a hurdle for Khalap in the run-up to the election. However,
past records show that Congress has sympathisers in various pockets of all seven assembly segments of Bardez—Mapusa, Siolim, Calangute, Saligao, Porvorim, Aldona, and Tivim.
A political observer said that though the BJP has six MLAs out of seven, it is not that all Congress supporters moved with the MLAs to the BJP. Some voters may vote against Naik to vent their anger against the defection, he said.
Silent voters and a lack of enthusiasm are also likely to make a difference in the election.
As for issues, Mhadei, resentment in coastal areas over various issues like CRZ, taxis, and shacks is a matter of concern for the ruling party. It is not clear whether other issues, such as unemployment, inflation, etc, will influence the voter.
In Mapusa, the BJP has a strong organisation, which has maintained the party’s supremacy in the constituency. Congress has got its presence with leaders like Sudhir Kandolkar, councillor Shashank Narvekar, Vijay Bhike, and others, but it remains to be seen how much of an impact they can make.
In Saligao and Siolim, which have also been BJP strongholds, the internal difference between ‘new’ inductees, MLAs Delilah Lobo and Kedar Naik,
and the old leaders who have been taking care of the party torch may have an impact. However, senior party leaders have tried to sort out the differences.
In Porvorim, where the BJP has been getting a comfortable lead in the past two parliamentary elections, may expect a huge lead due to the work of Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte, who had won the seat for the third assembly term in February 2022 by a huge margin.
Tivim is a constituency that may hold some surprises. BJP Tivim MLA Nilkanth Halarnkar is working to increase the winning margin. However, the impact of RGP candidate Manoj Parab may also make a difference, as Parab made his presence felt in the assembly election.
The campaign in Aldona is turning into a battlefield between Congress sitting MLA Carlos Alvares Ferreira and former BJP MLA Glenn Ticlo, with both vying to secure a lead for their respective parties.