News Analysis India

Tag: Goa Elections

  • Chidambaram talks about restructuring, reviving Congress in Goa ahead of Assembly polls

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday said he has been given the task of restructuring and reviving the party in Goa, where Assembly polls are scheduled next year.

    The former Union minister, who is back in Goa within a week of his first visit to the coastal state after taking over as election observer, on Saturday held a number of meetings with the local party office-bearers and leaders, including the heads of election committees.

    When asked, he refused to talk about the possible alliance with the like-minded parties for the next year’s Assembly polls, saying that his mandate was only to restructure and revive the state unit of the party ahead of the elections scheduled in February 2022.

    “My mandate is only on restructuring and reviving the party, reconstituting the block committees and enrolling members,” he told reporters at the Congress House here.

    Chidambaram arrived in the state on Friday on a three-day visit.

    ALSO READ | BJP ready to go solo in Goa Assembly polls, says state party chief Sadanand Tanavade

    During his visit last week, he had said that the Congress was getting “battle-ready” to fight all 40 seats of the Goa Assembly, and also claimed that the political atmosphere in the state was “extremely favourable” for the party.

    Meanwhile, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Girish Chodankar said, “The party is planning to chalk out a strategy for the next year’s elections. We are reworking all the booths across the state.”

    “Several leaders are joining the Congress in Goa as they look at the party as hope against the BJP. People have decided to defeat the BJP in the next elections in the state and the pulse is in favour of the Congress,” he added.

    The Congress had won the highest 17 seats in the 40-member House in the 2017 Goa Assembly elections, restricting the main opponent BJP to 13.

    But the saffron party had moved swiftly to join hands with regional parties and came to power under the leadership of senior leader Manohar Parrikar, now deceased.

    Over the years, Congress’s strength in the Legislative Assembly has dwindled to five after many of its MLAs switched sides and joined the ruling BJP.

  • BJP ready to go solo in Goa Assembly polls, says state party chief Sadanand Tanavade

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Amid talks of a probable alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) in the state, Bharatiya Janata Party state chief Sadanand Tanavade on Saturday claimed that the party is ready to contest polls alone.

    He, however, added that the final decision on alliance will be that of the central leadership. “The state unit believes that BJP can alone win polls without stitching an alliance,” he said.

    “We are absolutely sure that we will win assembly polls even without having anyone as an ally in the polls,” Tanavade told ANI.

    MGP reportedly has an influence on the Hindu voter base.

    “The central leadership takes the call on the alliance. But, we believe that we can go alone in the elections and still win. And, I believe that we are ready to go alone. At the time of local polls, we fought alone without any ally and yet won,” he said.

    The State BJP chief further stressed contesting polls without an ally saying that, “We have 40 assembly seats in the state and BJP has ‘Mandal Samitis’ in every constituency. 1663 booths are here and all are having committees. We are organisationally strong.”

    The Opposition in the state is yet to decide on an alliance and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is nudging the Congress party to decide whether to contest the polls alone or together. However, the BJP state unit seems to be motivated with local poll results thereby stressing on going solo and winning the elections with a majority.

    In April this year, BJP won an absolute majority in three of the five municipal councils in Goa. Polling had taken place in Mapusa, Margao, Mormugao, Sanguem, and Quepem municipal councils. Here, the BJP had won Quepem, Mormugao, and Sanguem councils.

    Tanavade lauded the BJP Goa unit’s performance in recent times and is confident that his party is ready to win even if the elections are held tomorrow.

    “Even if elections are announced tomorrow, we are ready for it. You must be thinking that why are we confident. During Zila panchayat polls held last year, all opposition parties and NGOs had spread rumours that BJP will not win. But when the result came out, BJP won 19 seats of the 25 seats in North Goa. In South Goa, we contested 18 seats and we won 14 seats in South Goa which has been the highest tally of seats by the party so far.”

    “During Municipality elections, the anti-BJP atmosphere was created by opposition yet again. We won at that time as well and claimed a majority,” said Tanavade.

    Recently, on August 9, Congress appointed former finance minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram as an election observer for Goa polls to be held in 2022. In this matter, Tanavade said that BJP as a party isn’t worried about Congress or its new observer.

    “Congress has made P Chidambaram as its party’s observer of Goa. I say, even if Rahul Gandhi is called in, BJP will form the government on its own. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal too comes here and yet he doesn’t manage to make a difference. We have trust and confidence in us and our people,” stated Tanavade.

    When asked about people joining Congress, Tanavade took a dig at them saying, “Congress is taking its own people back into the party and showing it off as a ‘wave’ for Congress in the assembly polls.”

    Meanwhile, Tanavade and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant are touring several constituencies separately.

    “We meet our workers and know about whether they are satisfied and intact with the party. We are constantly meeting various groups. Our Chief Minister is also doing tours of various constituencies. We are planning to finish the process of covering all constituencies by October 31 ie post-Ganesh Chaturthi,” added the Goa state chief of BJP.

    To woo 35,000 voters in Goa belonging to Northern India, the Goa BJP unit is holding ‘Sammelans’. “Tomorrow, we will do it for 500 North Indians, but there will be a big ‘Sammelan’ in November,” informed Tanavade. (ANI)

  • Congress to form alliance with GFP for Goa Assembly elections: Vijai Sardesai

    By PTI
    PANAJI: Goa Forward Party (GFP) president Vijai Sardesai on Tuesday said the Congress has agreed to form an alliance with his party for the state Legislative Assembly election slated to be held in February 2022.

    Speaking to reporters here, Sardesai said the All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao has informed him that the Congress high command has approved the proposal for alliance between the parties.

    ALSO READ | BJP failed to provide 24X7 electricity, AAP will if it comes to power in Goa: Arvind Kejriwal

    “The proposal of the alliance has been formally approved. We will now have to sit and decide the modalities of the tie-up,” the GFP chief said.

    The GFP currently has three MLAs in the state Assembly, while the Congress is left with five, after 12 MLAs left the party to join the BJP.

  • Will contest 20-25 seats in 2022 Goa Assembly polls: Shiv Sena

    By PTI
    PANAJI: Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said his party will contest 20-25 seats in the Goa Assembly polls scheduled to be held next year.

    He claimed there was large-scale unrest against the BJP government here but the opposition was unable to take advantage of it, and this was giving space to parties like AAP which surfaced only during polls in Goa.

    Those who question the strength of the Shiv Sena in Goa must contest polls on their own in the state rather than on the strength of alliances, Raut added.