News Analysis India

Tag: Goa polls

  • TMC constitutes panel to review poor performance in Goa polls

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress on Sunday constituted a committee to review the party’s dismal performance in the recently held assembly elections in Goa, where it drew a blank.

    TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, in a statement, said that the party will convene a series of internal review meetings to introspect its role in Goa.

    The review committee, headed by the party’s Haryana leader Ashok Tanwar, will also comprise Sushmita Dev, and Sourav Chakraborty, he said.

    “We are convening a series of internal review meetings and the first conclave will be held on March 26 where candidates, their core team members and individual members of the party will be invited,” the Diamond Harbour MP, who had visited Goa several times in past four months to build the party’s organisation, said.

    “We began our mission in Goa to fill the void created due to lack of an efficient, robust opposition. Over the next five years, we recommit ourselves to playing that role,” Banerjee said. The party secured a little over five per cent of the votes but failed to win a seat.

    Several senior Congress leaders including former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro, had joined the party ahead of the elections.

  • Congress in more mess? Three days over since Goa poll results, party yet to decide its legislature leader

    By PTI

    PANAJI: The Congress in Goa is yet to take a decision on its legislature party leader, even after three days of the announcement of the state Assembly election results.

    According to sources, the Goa Congress unit has not held a single meeting after it failed to reach the majority mark of 21 in the 40-member Assembly.

    The Congress got 11 seats, its ally Goa Forward Party (GFP) secured one seat, while the BJP bagged 20 seats.

    Earlier, a senior Congress leader had said the Congress-GFP alliance will name its leader immediately after the election results are out.

    However, talking to PTI on Sunday, a Congress leader on condition of anonymity said, We are yet to get any invitation for a meeting after the counting.”

    Congress MLA-elect Michael Lobo said a decision on the legislature party leader would be taken “at the right time”.

    The Congress will have to inform the Assembly about their leader when the session is called for a confidence vote for the chief minister,’ he said.

    While Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar was not available for comments, another senior party leader claimed the elected members were divided between Digambar Kamat and Michael Lobo as their leader.

    Lobo denied lobbying for the post of Leader of the Opposition.

    I am not lobbying for any post. If the party high command gives me the responsibility, I am ready to accept it, he said.

    Former CM Kamat was elected from Margao Assembly segment, while Lobo won from Calangute seat.

    Lobo, a former BJP minister, quit the saffron party and joined the Congress in January this year, before the elections were held last month.

  • Day after poll results, Goa cabinet decides to recommend dissolution of Assembly on March 14

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, whose party BJP has won 20 out of 40 seats in the state assembly polls, on Friday held a meeting of his cabinet, during which it was decided to recommend dissolution of the House on March 14.

    State Health Minister Vishwajit Rane told this to reporters after the cabinet meeting. “We met to thank the people for a resounding victory of the party. During the meeting, a resolution was moved to thank the people of the state. The meeting chaired by CM Sawant decided to recommend to the state governor dissolution of the House on Monday,” he said.

    The tenure of the present assembly is scheduled to end on 15 March. Talking to reporters after the meeting, state Revenue Minister Jeniffer Monserratte said the cabinet will also be dissolved on Monday.

    Overcoming anti-incumbency, the BJP on Thursday emerged as the single largest party in the coastal state by winning 20 assembly seats, just one shy of the halfway mark, and quickly enlisted the support of regional outfit Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and three Independent MLAs to form its government for a third consecutive term.

    The party is yet to stake claim to form the government. Its central observers are expected to arrive in Goa on Friday, after which the new legislature wing will meet to decide its leader.

    BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadanavis had told reporters last evening that the decision on leadership and timing of swearing-in of the new cabinet will be decided by the party’s parliamentary committee.

  • BJP to stake claim today evening to form government in Goa

    By PTI

    PANAJI: The BJP, which is emerging as the single largest party in the 40-member Goa Assembly, will meet Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai and stake claim to form government on Thursday evening, a senior party leader said.

    As per data of the Election Commission of India, the BJP has so far won five seats and is leading in 15 others in the coastal state, where counting of votes is currently underway.

    The BJP’s legislature wing will meet around 4 pm in the state capital Panaji during which the group leader would be decided, a senior party leader said. “After that, the party will stake claim to form the next government,” he said.

    The BJP has said that three independents, who are currently leading in their respective constituencies, are in touch with the party.

    Dr Chandrakant Shetye, the independent candidate who won from Bicholim Assembly constituency, met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant after the announcement of his victory, the party leader said.

  • Goa polls: Congress decides to act swiftly to stake claim for government formation

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Congress veteran P Chidambaram held a meeting with the Goa Assembly poll candidates of his party and those of ally GFP on Wednesday night, where it was decided that the alliance will name its leader immediately after the election results are out and stake claim for government formation, sources said.

    The decision is meant to avoid a repeat of the 2017 fiasco when the Congress had failed to form a government in Goa despite scoring the maximum number of seats.

    Polling for the 40-member House was held on February 14 and the counting of votes will be taken up on Thursday.

    Most exit polls have predicted a hung House in the tiny coastal state, leading the political parties to formulate their strategies keeping in mind different post-result scenarios.

    The Congress had contested the election on 37 seats, while ally Goa Forward Party (GFP) had fielded three candidates.

    The Congress, which had kept its candidates in a luxury hotel at Bambolim near Panaji in North Goa since Tuesday evening, shifted them to another resort in Margao town on Wednesday evening.

    This resort is owned by one of the party candidates.

    Sources said that Chidambaram, who is Congress’s Goa election in-charge, held a meeting with the candidates of the Congress and the GFP, which was also attended by Karnataka Congress president D K Shivkumar, who is currently camping in Goa.

    During the meeting, it was decided to elect the leader of the group immediately after the results are out and stake claim to form the government with state Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai.

    “The appointment with the governor would be sought immediately after the results are declared. We don’t want to commit the mistakes that happened after the 2017 election results,” a senior party office-bearer said.

    Talking to reporters, Shivkumar said that all the candidates are together and there is no worry of any split.

    “BJP is known for its habit of poaching. That is why we have asked all our candidates to stay in a common hotel,” he said.

    In 2017, despite winning 17 seats, the Congress could not come to power as the BJP, which had bagged 13 seats, allied with some independents and regional parties to form the government under the leadership of its stalwart Manohar Parrikar.

    The BJP eyes a third consecutive term in office.

  • Polls: Congress shifts flock to luxury resort in Goa amid prediction of Mar 10 results ending in dead heat

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Desperate to avoid the repeat of the 2017 fiasco when it had failed to form a government in Goa despite scoring the maximum number of seats, the Congress has shifted all the candidates who had contested the Assembly polls to a luxury resort in Bambolim village near Panaji ahead of the counting of votes on March 10.

    Given that the political stakes are very high and considering the quicksand of Goa politics, the party may not allow some candidates even to visit the counting centre on Thursday, a senior Congress leader said on Wednesday.

    However, Michael Lobo, who quit the BJP-led Goa government ahead of the polls and contested on a Congress ticket, said all the candidates will go to the counting centre.

    With the prediction of a hung Assembly setting off power games in Goa, Congress on Tuesday evening shifted all its candidates in a luxury resort at Bambolim village, around 5 km away from Panaji.

    All the candidates checked in the resort on Tuesday evening with their luggage, indicating that the government formation may be a long haul.

    However, Congress leaders refused to admit that the party was corralling its candidates as it is not willing to take any chances given the delicate number game.

    “We are here to celebrate the birthday of Opposition leader Digambar Kamat. It’s a celebration time,” Lobo, who contested the election from home turf Calangute, told reporters.

    Kamat celebrated his birthday on March 8. Lobo said Congress had nothing to fear as all the candidates are together. “There is no worry about poaching,” he added.

    However, a senior Congress leader spoke about the anxiety in the party over retaining the flock against the backdrop of the 2017 experience wherein intense infighting and the delay in staking claim to form a government cost the party dear.

    “There are worries. That is why the candidates are kept under one roof. Some of the candidates will not be allowed even to visit the counting centre tomorrow. Their counting agents will represent them,” a senior Congress leader said.

    Lobo, however, said that all the candidates will go to the counting centre. “Let them celebrate their victory and return to stake a claim to form the government,” he said.

    With its strength whittled down to just two MLAs in the 40-member House from the 17 seats it had won in the 2017 polls and the Goa political space getting crowded with the entry of TMC and AAP, the Grand Old Party did some course correction ahead of polls this time.

    Before the polls, held on February 14, Congress made all its 37 candidates sign affidavits to ensure that they will not defect to other parties after getting elected.

    The Congress had taken all its candidates in a special bus to a temple, a church as well as a dargah in Goa and made them take the ‘anti-defection’ pledge.

    Senior leaders, including AICC Goa election in-charge P Chidambaram and Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao, have been closely monitoring the developments.

    In the 2017 polls, despite winning 17 seats, Congress could not come to power as the BJP, which had bagged 13 seats, allied with some independents and regional parties to form the government under Manohar Parrikar.

  • ‘Open to post-poll alliance with non-BJP parties’: Congress extends olive braches to AAP, Trinamool ahead of Goa results

    By PTI

    PANAJI: With the date for the Goa Assembly poll results nearing, the Congress has said it is open to a post-poll alliance with parties other than the BJP to form the next government, if it does not get a majority on its own.

    Elections to the 40-member Goa Assembly were held on February 14 and the results would be declared on March 10.

    Talking to reporters on Sunday, All India Congress Committee’s Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao said if his party falls short of the majority mark of 21, it is open to seeking the support of outfits like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to form government.

    The Congress had contested the election in alliance with the Goa Forward Party.

    Besides, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC had tied-up with the MGP, Goa’s oldest regional outfit, before the polls.

    Rao said after the final result is out, the Congress Legislature Party will waste no time in electing its leader.

    If the Congress gets majority, “we will stake claim to form government the same day”, he said.

    The Congress had won 17 seats in the 2017 state Assembly elections, while the BJP bagged 13.

    But, the saffron party formed government by quickly forging an alliance with some other parties and independents.

    Over the last five years, a number of Congress MLAs quit the party and its strength in the House was reduced to two.

  • Congress will form next government in Goa, says Michael Lobo

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Congress leader and former Goa minister Michael Lobo on Thursday expressed confidence that the party will form the government in the state by dislodging the BJP after the Assembly poll results come out on March 10, and dismissed speculations that the Sonia Gandhi-led party will split in the coastal state.

    Addressing a press conference in the presence of Leader of Opposition Digmbar Kamat and Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar, Lobo also dismissed rumours that the top BJP leadership was in touch with him to switch over after the results next week.

    “If the results are out by 3 pm on March 10, the Congress will form the government by 5 pm,” he claimed.

    Lobo, who joined the Congress in January this year after quitting the BJP-led state cabinet, said the people of Goa knew who was making false claims about him.

    “Don’t fall prey to such rumors. Nobody will leave the Congress. Let the BJP try pressure tactics also by using the Enforcement Directorate and other agencies. We all are united and will not leave the Congress,” he asserted.

    Lobo said the Congress will provide a stable government in the state.

    “The BJP will be in the opposition and we are confident about it,” he said.

    Lobo claimed leaders of other parties in the state were in touch with the Congress.

    “They are not interested in supporting the BJP. Not a single independent MLA or the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party will go near the BJP, as it back-stabbed the MGP. Nobody trusts them now,” Lobo claimed.

    The Congress leader said on March 10, the people of the state would be happy after “liberation from the BJP”.

    After the 2017 Goa Assembly polls, the Congress had emerged as the single party by winning 17 seats in the 40-member House.

    However, the BJP, which bagged 13 seats, then quickly tied-up with some regional outfits, including the MGP, and independents to form government.

    Over the last five years, several Congress leaders quit the party and its strength in the Assembly was reduced to two.

    Polls to elect the new state Assembly were held on February 14 this year and the counting of votes would be done on March 10.

  • Over Rs 1000 crore worth of cash, drugs, liquor, freebies seized during assembly polls in 5 states

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: With the Election Commission stepping up vigil, more than Rs 1,000 crore worth of cash, drugs, liquor and freebies have been seized so far in the ongoing assembly polls in five states, a nearly four-fold increase in such seizures over the previous round of elections in 2017.

    According to an Election Commission statement, Punjab topped the chart with total seizures amounting to Rs 510.91 crore, followed by Uttar Pradesh (Rs 307.92 crore), Manipur (Rs 167.83 crore), Uttarakhand (Rs 18.81 crore) and Goa (Rs 12.73 crore).

    The total seizures in the five states were over Rs 1,018 crore, a nearly four-fold increase over the total seizures of Rs 299.84 crore made during the 2017 assembly elections in these states.

    In the five states, the total cash seizures amounted to Rs 140.29 crore, while more than 82 lakh litres of liquor valued at Rs 99.84 crore was also confiscated.

    Drugs worth Rs 569.52 crore, precious metals worth Rs 115.054 crore and freebies worth Rs 93.5 crore were also seized.

    “Apart from above mentioned seizure figures, the Commission’s visit galvanised enforcement authorities as the agencies seized drugs worth Rs 109 crore in Punjab and more than eight lakh litres of liquor in Uttar Pradesh in the run-up to the elections,” the Commission said in a statement.

    The Commission said it had strengthened monitoring of expenditure in the run-up to the elections in the five states through a multi-pronged strategy.

    “The strategy included appointment of experienced officers as Expenditure Observers, sensitising and reviewing a larger ambit of enforcement agencies for more coordinated and comprehensive monitoring, ensuring adequate availability of field level teams in the monitoring process,” a statement from the Commission said.

    It said 228 Expenditure Observers were deployed and Special Expenditure Observers, who are officers with impeccable and brilliant track record of domain expertise, too were appointed for effective monitoring.

    The seven-phase assembly elections began on February 10 and will conclude on March 7. Votes will be counted on March 10.

  • Goa Trinamool chief claims Prashant Kishor’s I-PAC abandoned party candidates after polls

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Goa Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Kiran Kandolkar has claimed that their political consultant I-PAC abandoned the party candidates after the state Assembly polls held last week.

    Talking to reporters here on Monday, Kandolkar also said he was not quitting as TMC’s Goa unit chief, but was upset with I-PAC head Prashant Kishor and his team.

    There have been speculations since some time about a rift between the TMC and I-PAC (Indian Political Action Committee), which had helped the Mamata Banerjee-led party during the West Bengal Assembly polls.

    The TMC contested the Goa Assembly elections in alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).

    Polling was held on February 14 and the counting of votes will be done on March 10.

    Kandolkar had contested the election from Aldona Assembly seat, while his wife Kavita contested from Thivim on TMC’s ticket.

    He claimed that most of the TMC candidates in Goa felt they were abandoned by the I-PAC after the polls.

    “All candidates fielded by the TMC have some or the other issues with the I-PAC. When the candidates told me about their issues with Prashant Kishor and his I-PAC team, I discussed the matter with my party workers, who advised me to quit as the TMC Goa president,” he said.

    “I am not quitting as TMC Goa head, but I am upset with Prashant Kishor and the I-PAC team,” he said.

    A meeting of all party candidates has been called on Tuesday to discuss the polling in their respective Assembly constituencies, he added.