Goa Assembly elections: Significant poaching, negotiations of possible alliances, and lobbying for tickets are taking place in the state. In Goa, where the BJP, Congress, and regional parties have long dominated, the AAP and TMC will compete for a seat in the 40-member state assembly, which will be elected early next year. A flurry of political activity is taking place in the state, with significant poaching, talks for possible alliances, and lobbying for tickets.
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In the two revenue districts of North and South Goa, there are 40 legislative assembly constituencies. The BJP currently has 27 MLAs and the backing of an independent MLA, Congress has four after Luizinho Faleiro quit and joined the TMC in September, the GFP has three, the MGP and NCP each have one, and there are two independents.
The regional player, led by former Congressman Vijai Sardesai, now has three MLAs. It is attempting to defeat the BJP following the unceremonious removal of party MLAs from the alliance government created in 2017 under then-Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, following the 2019 defections.
The party is considering its possibilities for contesting roughly 12 seats. The race for Goa’s capital is expected to be the most fascinating. The seat is now held by Atanasio alias Babush Monserrate, who won it on a Congress ticket in 2017 when it became vacant following the death of former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
The BJP was humiliated by the loss of Parrikar’s seat. When Monserrate and nine other Congress MLAs defected to the saffron party in 2019, the seat was returned to the party. However, the BJP may face a difficult scenario in the approaching election. Many in the party perceive Parrikar’s son, Utpal Parrikar, as the inevitable heir to his highly-regarded father. He has not shied away from expressing his ambition to run for the seat to the party’s leadership. At the same time, Monserrate, who was key in getting over ten Congress MLAs into the BJP fold following the 2019 defections, may wish to keep his claim to the hard-earned victory in Panaji.
