The stakes are high not only for the Congress-NCP combine and the BJP in Saturday's election in Goa, but also for a number of smaller players who have staked all their political cards in the hope of striking it big in a fragmented poll scenario.
Will the odds favour the cohesive Congress-NCP alliance, or will it tilt the saffron way? The BJP is in the race for 33 of the 40 seats, the Congress is contesting 32 and the NCP six.
Congress rebel Churchill Alemao is hoping to pack a punch with his Save Goa Front (SGF) running for 17 seats in Congress strongholds. The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) has put up 26 candidates, the Janata Dal (Secular) 12 and the United Goans’ Democratic Party (UGDP) 11. Results will be out on June 5.
Celebrity politicians
For Goa’s 10.10 lakh electorate, some of the hottest contests are where “celebrity” politicians are battling anti-incumbency after decades of easy ride.
The BJP has woven its entire campaign around its chief ministerial candidate Manohar Parrikar. Pinned in a stiff one-on-one contest against the Congress’ builder-nominee Dinar Tarcar for the Panjim seat, Mr Parrikar has had to counter the strong focus on his saffron connections in a constituency where Christians hold 28 per cent of the vote. Mr Parrikar had won this seat with a margin of 1,200-odd votes in 2002.
Locked in a do-or-die campaign to wrest the Navelim seat from Congress Minister Luizinho Faleiro, this election is critical for Mr Churchill Alemao and his SGF outfit. Their political survival depends on making a mark in the rough and tumble of Goa’s politics.
Mr Faleiro has represented his South Goa seat for 27 years. He won six consecutive elections in this constituency, one of them unopposed.
While some Congress stalwarts like Faleiro battle an under-current of anti-incumbency, many other financially cushioned party candidates have been targeted by a Church and NGO campaign for their corruption. The BJP has not convinced the voter that it has not struck back-hand deals with Congress rebels.