The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party hopes to come back to power in Goa with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) possibly eating into the Congress’s votes in the February 14 assembly elections.
BJP sources feel that the two parties are likely to secure a sizeable amount of votes that may be going against, thus enhancing its chances of winning.
If these two parties are able to snatch away just a few hundred votes in certain places from the Congress, the outcome of the election could be majorly affected, believe BJP leaders.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had won 13 of the 40 assembly seats in the 2017 elections with an approximately 32 per cent vote share. Interestingly, the BJP’s vote share was more than that of the Congress that got more seats.
“The Congress got 17 seats and secured 28 per cent votes approximately. The BJP had a 32 per cent vote share despite getting 13 seats. That is why we say even a fraction of the votes not coming to us getting divided is likely to benefit us,” said a senior BJP leader.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant too acknowledged the impact that regional parties that are not Goa-based will have on every seat. The CM believes that every constituency is different this election as there are contenders from different parties against the BJP.
“We will get a full majority. However, there are some seats where the TMC is fighting well. So are AAP, Congress and other regional parties on different seats. Every constituency is different this time,” he said.
Senior leaders in the party too are happy about the fact that votes that may have gone to the Congress due to anti-incumbency against the BJP will now be divided among regional parties like AAP and TMC that are relatively new to the state.
“Had it been a direct fight, there were chances of the Congress emerging as a challenge,” said a senior state BJP leader.
With at least 10 MLAs breaking away from the opposition party in 2019 to help the BJP be confident about completing its tenure, the Congress had made its candidates take an oath of loyalty.
Many foresee that the results can be very unpredictable and the opposition suspects the BJP may indulge in horse-trading if it falls short of the majority mark.
Sawant has said that the BJP does not buy MLAs but is willing to take them if they come on their own, but some leaders from the party believe that no matter how many seats it wins, it will form the government.
AAP made its electoral debut in Goa in 2017 when it garnered approximately 6 per cent votes. However, it couldn’t open its account. The Nationalist Congress party had picked up one seat. The TMC is making its first attempt to change the electoral situation in Goa. It is contesting in alliance with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) that won 3 seats in 2017.
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