MARGAO: The BJP’s inability to secure a lead and targeted percentage of votes in the eight constituencies of Salcete taluka, despite support from two rebel MLAs from Congress, an independent candidate and two MLAs from BJP, is a significant political achievement for the INDIA Bloc.
Conversely, the INDIA Bloc’s substantial lead in seven out of the eight constituencies indicates their strong foothold and widespread support within Salcete taluka.
The only constituency that the BJP party managed to get the lead was in Margao, shockingly, that too with just 1,323 votes.
INDIA Bloc South Goa candidate from the Congress party, Capt Viriato Fernandes, got a total lead of 61,000-plus votes in the Salcete taluka.
In Nuvem, Capt Fernandes garnered a total of 16,365 votes, whereas Pallavi Dempo of the BJP received only 2,677 votes, despite the vigorous campaigning efforts of Nuvem MLA and Minister Alexio Sequiera, who had switched his allegiance from Congress to BJP.
In Margao, the BJP candidate secured 11,474 votes, while Capt Fernandes received 10,151 votes. Interestingly, this constituency is also represented by Digambar Kamat, who also had defected from the Congress party to the BJP. Despite Kamat's presence and support, the BJP candidate failed to gain a significant lead.
The situation in Curtorim constituency mirrors that of Margao, where despite active campaigning by independent MLA Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco, the party candidate he supported failed to secure a lead.
Despite Reginaldo attending corner and public meetings where the BJP candidate appealed for votes, yet Pallavi Dempo secured 5,787 votes compared to the INDIA Bloc candidate's 14,975 votes in the Curtorim Assembly segment. Capt Fernandes got a lead of 9,188 votes.
In Fatorda constituency INDIA Bloc candidate Capt Fernandes got a lead of 2,437 votes with total votes of 12,318, wherein BJP candidate pulled 9,881 votes.
In the Benaulim constituency, represented by INDIA Bloc partner AAP MLA Venzy Viegas, Capt Fernandes secured a significant lead of 14,181 votes. While Dempo received only 2,506 votes, India Bloc candidate secured overall 16,687 votes in this coastal constituency.
The BJP faced a significant setback in the Navelim constituency, despite it being represented by BJP MLA Ulhas Tuenkar, as the INDIA Bloc candidate secured a lead of 5,770 votes with a total 12,921 votes. Dempo of the BJP got 7,151 votes in this constituency.
In Cuncolim constituency, represented by Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, INDIA Bloc candidate got a big lead of 6,032 with a total number of 12,604 votes. The BJP candidate bagged 6,572 votes over here.
And in Velim constituency, Capt Fernandes got a lead of 13,350 votes. A constituency represented by AAP legislator Cruz Silva gave a boost to former as he polled 17,251 votes and the BJP candidate Dempo had to be content with a paltry 3,901 votes.
Amonkar blames ‘internal sabotage’ for defeat of BJP in MORMUGAO
VASCO: Two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs Sankalp Amonkar and Krishna ‘Daji’ Salkar have expressed their disenchantment with the result of the Lok Sabha polls over the low lead to party candidate Pallavi Dempo, who lost the election.
While acknowledging the mandate of the people, Mormugao MLA Amonkar rued that internal betrayal within the party ranks was responsible for polling less votes. “Though we secured a lead in the Mormugao Assembly segment, I am not entirely pleased with the outcome of the result. It is apparent that some BJP loyalists had been working against the party’s interests here in Mormugao,” he said.
Amonkar said that he will now document all instances of disloyalty and backstabbing that came to his attention and submit a detailed report to the party leadership for necessary action against those who undermined collective efforts.
On the other hand, Vasco MLA Daji Salkar said that he will soon convene a joint meeting of all the councillors and analyse the reasons for less votes margin in Vasco compared to the lead secured in the 2019 polls.
Salkar said that the late readmission of former MLA Carlos Almeida into the BJP might have caused confusion and opined that if Almeida was roped in much earlier, then the party could have had a dedicated team of workers for campaigning.
Reacting to the lead of 2,631 votes to the BJP candidate in Vasco Assembly segment, Salkar said that he was expecting a lead of more than 5,000 votes. ”People from across the country are residing in Vasco and due to wedding season many people left for their native places which also reduced over 1,000 votes for the BJP. All these factors would be discussed in the meeting,” Salkar added.