A ‘status quo’ poll, except in Bicholim and Canacona!

The municipal elections held in 11 municipal towns of Goa largely maintained a status quo, except in Bicholim and Canacona.

Voters in Bicholim have turned against sitting independent MLA Naresh Sawal and in favour of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

However in Canacona, they voted against the ruling BJP minister Ramesh Tawadkar while supporting former BJP MLA Vijay Pai Khot, who was denied ticket in the last 2012 Assembly election.

This definitely cannot be generalised as an anti-incumbency trend in any manner.

On the contrary, the voter has preferred to rally behind their MLA, no matter he belongs to the ruling or the opposition party.

And in Cuncolim, the elected councillors have preferred the ruling party with 6 councillors supported by John Monteiro jumped on BJP’s lotus.

MORE VOTING MEANT NOTHING

The prediction that 10% more voter turnout on 25 October than the last civic poll held in 2010 would mean something different proved wrong. It has proved nothing.

In fact Canacona turned the tables against sports minister Tawadkar when the voting was not even one per cent extra (77.88% against 76.99% in 2010).

Even in Bicholim, when voters turned their backs to sitting MLA Naresh Sawal and elected the BJP, the voting percentage was only 8.5% more, less than the average 10% more.

The overall voting this time was 72.53%, against 62.38% in 2010.

(In Mormugao, 6 in Ind section actually shows Nana Bandekar-Jose Philip Front & 4 Independents.

Similarly, Margao shows 6 of Congress MLA Digambar Kamat and 12 of Ind Vijai Sardesai.)

BICHOLIM SITS ON LOTUS

Bicholim election becomes noteworthy on the background of homecoming of Rajesh Patnekar, who had quit the BJP to lose on Congress ticket in 2012 Assembly election, after getting elected on the BJP ticket twice before.

It’s an alert signal for Sawal, who is hobnobbing with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party to contest the next Assembly poll of 2017.

CANACONA DISOWNS LOTUS

Similar is the case of Canacona MLA-minister Tawadkar, whose even party office bearers could not win the civic poll in spite of getting Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar for the campaign.

Khot, who was denied party ticket after Canacona and Poinguinim were amalgamated as one constituency in 2012, has suddenly sprung up after a long silence of over three years.

With getting bashed up even in the ZP elections in the five villages of Canacona taluka, the humiliating defeat for Tawadkar in the civic poll could prove to be fatal.

BJP STILL FAVOURITE

However, the city-based more educated voter of  Goa – at large – has proved that people may be upset with the ruling BJP, but not in a mood to defeat the saffron brigade.

The only exception is Fatorda, where BJP’s Damu Naik could not win a single seat in spite of his party being in power and he too holding influential positions at Margao Ravindra Bhavan in the cultural capital and Entertainment Society of Goa in the administrative capital of Goa.

BJP ANTI-BHATKAR?

More than Margao, however, turned out to be the election of Pedne, where the newly inducted minister Rajendra Arlekar’s BJP not only swept the poll but defeated Vasudev Deshprabhu in both the wards.

Deshprabhu’s contest had become more exciting since he had embraced his lifetime rival cousin Jitendra Deshprabhu, to defeat the BJP.

“It’s a vote against Bhatkarshay (rule of landlord)”, is a suggestive comment by Arlekar, which may turn into a major booster for the BJP.

Will it achieve what the MGP could not?

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