Will Captain Viriato Fernandes succeed in his surgical strike against the BJP in South Goa to retain the seat for the Congress?
Photo Credits: The Goan
MARGAO
Will minority-dominated Salcete, which had in the recent political history bailed out the Congress to win many an election, again come to the rescue of the main opposition party to help it retain the South Goa Seat?
And will the eight Assembly segments of Salcete give a lead of a minimum 65000-70,000 votes for the Congress to leave the ruling BJP stranded midway after a spirited fight to regain the South Goa seat, which the saffron party had lost in the 2019 election?
These and other questions will be uppermost in the minds of Congress candidate Captain Viriato Fernandes, besides the Congress top brass and leaders of the INDI Alliance on the eve of the counting of votes scheduled on Tuesday.
For, Salcete has been the stronghold of the Congress over the years, giving the much-needed push for the party to win many a Lok Sabha as well as Assembly elections.
Consider this. In the 2014 Lok Sabha poll, Congress candidate Reginaldo Lourenco had got a vote lead of 30,000 in Salcete, but the lead proved inadequate to contain a surging BJP, which won the seat by a whopping 30,000-odd vote margin.
The Congress regained the seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when Salcete gave a handsome lead of around 50,000 votes to party candidate Francisco Sardinha, which in the final analysis proved costly for the saffron party.
Many say the fate of the Congress will depend on the vote lead secured by Congress in its stronghold Salcete. A lead of 70,000 votes in Salcete, political observers say, would keep the Congress candidate in good stead. Questions, however, are being raised in political circles whether the Congress would touch the figure of 70,000 vote lead, even though many say it should not be difficult for the main opposition party to cross the 60,000-vote lead in the minority stronghold.
It’s precisely because of this equation that the BJP leadership did not ignore Salcete this time around. The party leadership led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant made every attempt to ensure that the Congress lead is neutralized in the minority-dominated taluka.
That’s not all. The BJP is also banking on Congress turncoat and former chief minister Digambar Kamat to ensure the Lotus bloom in Margao. Take note, the Congress had led over the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, adding to the tally of Congress vote lead in Salcete.
Unlike the previous election, all the major players including the Congress, Aam Admi Party and the Goa Forward party, which has a base in Salcete, were on one page this time round, as they all rallied under the INDI Alliance banner in trying to keep the BJP at bay.
