New BJP president Damu Naik with supporters.
Photo Credits: The Goan
MARGAO
When former two-time Fatorda MLA Damu Naik’s name did the rounds in political circles as the new BJP state president, political observers were quick to attribute the move as BJP’s way to stitch caste equations as part of social engineering.
Apart from the caste factor, which might have gone in Damu’s favour, many say the former two-time Fatorda MLA’s “moderate” image and his rapport with sections of the Christian community should come in handy for the BJP to boost the party’s outreach to the minorities.
If the BJP has any fresh plan for a major minority outreach in Goa, Damu Naik as BJP president, sources say, may be the best bet for the saffron brigade to get the minorities to rally behind the party.
For, the newly-elected president is no stranger to the minorities, especially in Christian-dominated Salcete. In his home turf Fatorda, Damu is one BJP leader who seems to enjoy the confidence of a significant Christian minority vote, which has time and again rallied behind him in recent elections.
In fact, many say, if arch-political rival, Goa Forward Chief Vijai Sardesai got a scare in the 2022 Assembly election, it was primarily due to a sizeable shift in the minority vote to Damu Naik contesting under the BJP banner, before losing the election by a thin margin.
Against this backdrop, the BJP leadership may be certainly looking forward to the new president striking the right chord amongst the minorities. Observers, however, sounded a word of caution, saying Damu may have a difficult task before him – to push the party’s agenda while also maintaining his relations with the minorities.
Social engineering factor
For some time now, whispers have been heard in the saffron brigade that the leadership is controlled by the Maratha duo of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and party president MP Sadanand Tanavade. It was but natural that the party would scout for Tanavade’s successor hailing from the politically significant Bhandari Samaj.
Sources within the ruling party and outside say that besides a host of other factors, the party’s decision to zero in on Damu Naik to head the party organisation is an attempt to win back the politically significant Bhandari Samaj to the party fold.
Not that the Bhandari Samaj has switched sides politically, but observers feel a sense of alienation had crept into the community leadership in recent times, as evidenced by occasional outbursts by its leaders.
In the 2022 Assembly election, only two Bhandari leaders were elected to the Assembly on the BJP ticket: Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik and Minister for Water Resources Development Subhash Shirodkar, who had their roots in the Congress.
Interestingly, buzz following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections suggested that members of the Bhandari Samaj may have supported Congress candidate Captain Viriato Fernandes in the South Goa contest.
