The elections to the two Lok Sabha seats from Goa are evenly poised. After a long delay, the Congress finally announced its candidates and quite suddenly it appeared that the party meant business in Goa.
Following a long spell of speculation that the party was going to field candidates who had little chance of winning, Congress has given to the voters candidates who can, not just ably challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party nominees, but even wrest the seats from them.
And that’s why the election is suddenly evenly poised. The candidates – all four main ones – are in it for a win, with none willing to give an inch to the other.
So, in North Goa we have BJP’s five-time MP Shripad Naik challenged by former MP and Union Law Minister Ramakant Khalap. Two old veterans, the former a party stalwart and the latter who has been in the political firmament of Goa since the 1970s.
Naik has been with the BJP his entire political career, while Khalap started off with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, elected in the byelection that followed the death of Goa’s first chief minister Dayanand Bandodkar, before joining Congress and later BJP, before returning to the Congress.
Naik has been with the BJP his entire political career, while Khalap started off with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, elected in the byelection that followed the death of Goa’s first chief minister Dayanand Bandodkar, before joining Congress and later BJP, before returning to the Congress.
It was under Naik’s stewardship of the party that the BJP made its debut in Goa and it was under Khalap’s leadership that the MGP came as close as possible to form a government in Goa after the days of the Bandodkar-Kakodkar leadership.
Both have led their parties, both have been chief ministers in waiting, both have a political base, both know the constituency and can grasp the issues involved.
Naik is aiming for a record that will be incredibly difficult to challenge and one that will not be easily beaten.
Khalap is out to make a comeback, having last won from the constituency in 1996, a good 28 years ago. Ironically, Khalap lost to Naik in the Lok Sabha polls of 1999.
Naik is aiming for a record that will be incredibly difficult to challenge and one that will not be easily beaten. Khalap is out to make a comeback, having last won from the constituency in 1996, a good 28 years ago.
On the other hand, in South Goa BJP’s Pallavi Dempo is making her political debut, having joined the party and being offered the ticket almost simultaneously.
Congress nominee Captain Viriato Fernandes is also new, though he did battle electorally in 2022. Both are relatively young, have little baggage and come across as fresh faces.
Mrs Dempo, who has not been politically active, will have to understand the issues involved in the constituency.
Fernandes has been actively involved in taking up various issues plaguing the state and has the advantage of being a fighter, not just for being a retired officer of the armed forces but for having led people’s movements in Goa. He is actually being dubbed as a people’s candidate in this election.
Mrs Dempo comes from a family that has held mining interests in the State, a sector that has provided jobs and has also drawn criticism for environmental reasons.
Fernandes, on the other hand, has stood for the environment, taking up the cudgels for its protection. This definitely will ensure an interesting battle of wits, should the two candidates share the stage for a debate. Even otherwise, it is an interesting battle.
Mrs Dempo comes from a family that has held mining interests in the State, a sector that has provided jobs and has also drawn criticism for environmental reasons.
The other candidates in the fray are also trying to make an impact, and one among them is the Revolutionary Goans Party.
The RGP may have garnered nine per cent of the vote in the Assembly elections of 2022, but the party’s campaign on the ground is not picking up the way it had two years ago.
After long, the Lok Sabha elections in Goa have taken an interesting twist, with both seats up for the taking by whichever party and candidate is ready to take the fight right up to polling day.
It is summer, the temperature is increasing and it will only get hotter.
The election will not be won before polling day and the gruelling, energy-sapping heat will decide which campaigner has the most vigour to beat the odds – political and climatic. This poll will actually be won by the sweat of the brow.
One thing is certain, in the North even if Khalap replaces Naik, it won’t be a new face in Parliament, while the South is definitely going to have a fresh face representing it.
