The wonderfully ironic inscription — Aiz Maka, Falea Tuka (literally ‘Today, me; Tomorrow, you!’) — on the gate of the graveyard of St. Thomas Church in North Goa’s Aldona sounds like the title of a Spaghetti western.
Yet, this tongue-in-cheek aphorism about human mortality, accurately encapsulates the see-saw politics of rapidly shifting fortunes often played out in the verdant coastal State of Goa (in western India) as both the North and South Goa Lok Sabha seats — the only parliamentary constituencies of the State — go to polls in the third phase on May 7.
With an electorate of a little more than 11 lakh and a total 16 candidates from six parties in the fray, the ruling BJP and the Congress remain the major players in the State’s political landscape.
Since the BJP’s victory in the February 2022 Goa Assembly election, a dominant BJP led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant faces a severely atrophied Congress, which was dealt a body blow by the defection of the majority of its legislators (eight of 11) to the saffron side in September 2022.
The smaller parties, namely Vijai Sardesai’s homegrown Goa Forward Party (GFP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are backing the Congress as part of the INDIA bloc to combat the BJP.
Congress bastion
The BJP, which has won the North Goa Lok Sabha seat since 1999, is now going all out to snare South Goa — a traditional Congress bastion which includes the Catholic-dominated Salcette region. Since 1962, the Congress has won the South Goa seat 10 times while the BJP has won it twice — in 1999 and 2014.
For the first time in the saffron party’s history in Goa, it has fielded a woman candidate — Pallavi Dempo for the South Goa Lok Sabha seat with an eye on Catholic Christian votes.
Ms. Dempo, a political neophyte, is the wife of businessman Shrinivas Dempo, chairman of the Dempo group, with interests in sectors ranging from football to real estate to ship building. (The duo’s net worth is estimated at a staggering ₹1,400 crore)
The opposition Congress, in a surprise move, has dropped its sitting MP Francisco Sardinha, a four-term parliamentarian from South Goa, and fielded former Naval officer, Capt. Viriato Fernandes.
For North Goa, the BJP has renominated its five-term incumbent Shripad Naik. The Congress has fielded old warhorse and former Union Minister Ramakant Khalap, who won this seat way back in 1996, to take on Mr. Naik.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent rally in the State underscored the BJP’s promises on developing Goa as an international conference tourism hub along with development of fisheries.
While oxymoronic issues of environmental protection and resumption of mining remain the Congress’ major concerns, the matter that has sparked Goan politics ahead of the election are recent remarks made by Capt. Fernandes (the Congress’ candidate from South Goa) about the Indian Constitution being allegedly forced upon Goa since its liberation in 1961.
This has lent ammunition to Mr. Modi and the BJP, who have accused the Congress of fostering separatist tendencies — a charge vehemently denied by the latter, who have claimed that Capt. Viriato’s remarks were grossly distorted.
Third challenger
As a challenge to both the BJP and the opposition Congress-led INDIA bloc, the homegrown Revolutionary Goans (RG) party has entered the fray as the third challenger, contesting both Lok Sabha seats.
RG chief Tukaram ‘Manoj’ Parab, with his mission to sweep away the ‘old, corrupt order of Goan politics’ is contesting the North Goa seat while his partyman Rubert Pereira is fighting from South Goa — a seat which is bound to witness a humdinger of a contest.
Baffling predictions of political pundits, the RG had emerged as a ‘wild card’ player in the 2022 Assembly election, snaring more than 9.5% of the total vote share — after the BJP and the Congress.
With political machinations in full swing, the land of Susegad (relaxed or laid-back) is galvanised as frenetic poll campaigning reaches a crescendo on May 7.
