Goa polls: BJP will have a tough time holding on to power this time

The election battle in this small state is now hot, and there are too many players, each with a strong claim to the throne.

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By Chanakya

Goa goes to the polls on February 14, to elect 40 members of its Legislative Assembly. Poling will be in a single phase. This was announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday. The counting will take place on March 10. The tenure of Goa Legislative Assembly ends on March 15. The previous assembly elections were held on February 15, 2017.

As per the ECI, Goa will have 1,722 polling stations in the elections. A total of 11,56,762 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the upcoming polls.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds the administrative powers in the state now, having won a close battle of wits over Congress the last time around, but this time the BJP is face to face with a tough fight. Apart from the Congress, which is getting stronger with recent defections from the BJP former ports minister Michael Lobo joined recently the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has also waded into the electoral race.

Picture courtsey : Election Commission of India

Former Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro is now with TMC and the party has launched sports persons such as Olympic medal winner tennis player Leander Paes and national swimming champion and beauty queen and actor Nafisa Ali. Also Deepak Dhavalikar, the president of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, has allied with the TMC for a pre-poll alliance.

Former Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro

Goa is a major target for West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, because she wants to transform her party into a national party, with the 2024 general elections in sight. Her strength comes from her stupendous victory over the BJP in the last assembly elections in her state.

Then there is the Aam Aadmi Party to contend with. While it is far away from Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal’s outlandish promises may come in the way of a proper poll scenario.

The BJP advantage has been in Congress leader Ravi Naik joined it.

Congress has tied up with the Goa Forward Party (GFP). The GFP had earlier shared power with the BJP in Goa, but withdrew its support in July 2019 after its three MLAs, including party president Vijai Sardesai, who was then Deputy Chief Minister in the Pramod Sawant-led government, were dropped from the cabinet.

In the 2017 Goa assembly elections Congress became the single largest party with 17 (28.4%) seats, while BJP had won 13 (32.5%). GFP won 3 (3.5%) seats, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party won 3 (11.3%) seats.

After the election, a coalition of BJP, Goa Forward Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party formed the state government, with Manohar Parrikar becoming Chief Minister. Parrikar served as Chief Minister of Goa from March 14, 2017 until his death (March 17, 2019). Previously, he was Chief Minister of Goa from 2000 to 2005 and from 2012 to 2014 and from 2017 to 2019.

After the demise of Manohar Parrikar, Dr.Pramod Sawant was elected by the Legislative Assembly as the 13th Chief Minister of Goa.

AAM AADMI PARTY PROMISE

  • AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said: “We will provide the first corruption-free and honest government in Goa.”
  • He said that just like in Delhi, where government officers visit an applicant’s residence to collect the documents, a similar system will be introduced in Goa.
  • The AAP government would facilitate the re-entry of industries, which have left the coastal state, by providing them all the required assistance.
  • Provide 80 percent reservation for Goans in private jobs and Rs 3,000 monthly unemployment allowance to youth till they get a job.
  • Arvind Kejriwal also said that AAP will give Rs 5,000 per month to families affected by the mining ban, Rs 5,000 per month to families unemployed due to lack of tourism, a sector that suffered significant losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • AAP also promised jobs to one person in every family.
  • Kejriwal said that the party will open new hospitals, Village clinics on the line of Mohalla clinics, will build better roads, schools and create unlimited tourism opportunities in order to provide jobs to every house.
  • Promised to build a Skill University in Goa where children will be able to learn their preferred skill after class 12th so that they can become employable.
  • Promised to give 1 lakh Jobs in 6 months, job portal for jobs in private sector and Formation of Ministry of Employment and Migration to stop migration.
  • TMC PROMISE
  • The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) said that if it wins the 2022 Goa assembly elections, it will:
  • Roll-out an income support scheme to guarantee Rs 5,000 to every woman head of a household. This was announced by the party’s Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra (Goa in-charge). She said the scheme will benefit nearly 3.51 lakh households in Goa.
  • The TMC and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) alliance has promised that within 250 days of the formation of their government, they would ensure that all the Goan families residing in Goa since 1976 are provided with title and ownership rights of land under possession. Also, at least 50,000 subsidized homes would be given to homeless families.
  • Promises the Griha Laxmi scheme to provide Rs 5,000 per month to one woman per family as well as the Yuva Shakti scheme in which the party promises loans at low interest rates for youth to begin their own businesses.
  • The scheme, ‘Mhaje Ghar, Maalki Hakk’ or ‘my house, my right’, is the TMC’s second poll promise after the ‘Griha Laxmi’ scheme.
Mamata Banerjee welcome Leander Paes In TMC

CONGRESS PROMISE
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra promised 30 per cent reservation in jobs for women if her party is voted to power in Goa. Other promises are as follows:

  • It would set up a police station in every taluk in Goa and deploy the maximum number of women personnel in the police station.Will also restart the iron ore mining industry in Goa by legal methods.