Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Venzy Viegas from Goa has claimed that about 70% of the voters in the coastal State are against the BJP.
The AAP legislator, who represents the Benaulim Assembly constituency, has been campaigning for the Opposition INDIA bloc candidate in South Goa Viriato Fernandes of the Congress.
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The BJP has fielded businesswoman Pallavi Dempo from the seat, while the Revolutionary Goans Party has nominated Rubert Pereira from this constituency. In the 2019 general elections, Congress’ Francisco Sardinha had defeated BJP candidate Narendra Sawarkar in the South Goa constituency.
“We have been campaigning around. I have travelled in at least 15 Assembly constituencies of South Goa. People are fed up. Seventy per cent of voters are against the BJP,” claimed Mr. Viegas. He said people from Goa are facing issues such as uncertainties over livelihood and inflation.
“Even the BJP cadres who attend their party meetings have to fill expensive petrol in their vehicle for travel. Domestic cylinder prices have gone up. Largely, there is unhappiness over the BJP-led government,” he said.
The lawmaker said people living near the shorefront in Goa are wary of the Coastal Regulation Zone Rules. “There is no clarity on CRZ norms and people living in the coastal belt are worried that their houses may be demolished any time,” he said.
Mr. Viegas said all Opposition parties have come together under the INDIA banner and they will maintain this unity even for the 2027 Goa Assembly elections. “This is how we are going to change Goa’s governance,” he said. The two Lok Sabha seats in Goa – South Goa and North Goa – will go to polls in the third phase on May 7.
In the North Goa seat, the BJP has fielded sitting MP Shripad Naik, while the Congress has nominated Ramakant Khalap. The Revolutionary Goans Party has given the ticket to Manoj Parab.
