Weeks ahead of the assembly elections in the poll bound state Goa, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress, debutants Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress along with other political parties have made sure not to leave any stones unturned to form their respective governments in the state. While the ruling BJP in the earlier elections faced competion from Congress, Goa Forward Party and a few, but this time the bar has rised with Mamata Banerjee's TMC has made their entry in the state.
The ruling party is also facing challenges from Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party. Furthermore, the Nationalist Congress Party, Goa Forward Party, and Goa Su-Raj Party are also vying for seats. Many MLAs have switched sides before the polls, reducing the strength of the Assembly to 34 seats.
According to the Election Commission of India, Goa will go to the polls on 14 February, with all 40 seats voting on the same date. The last date for filing the nominations for the Goa 2022 polls was 21 January. The results of the election will be announced on 10 March.
Goa will have 1,722 polling stations in the elections. A total of 11,56,762 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the upcoming polls.
While we all know the major candidates like chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant and Digambar Kamat and their constituencies, we hardly know about the dark horses in this year's assembly polls. Here's are five candidates which can emerge as dark horses.
Utpal Parrikar:
Denied ticket from Panaji, Utpal Parrikar, former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s son quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and decided to contest as an independent candidate from the capital city. The younger Parrikar will contest the February 14 assembly elections in the state from Panaji, his late father’s constituency. However, he added that he is ready to withdraw from the race if the saffron party fields a “good candidate” from the constituency.
The ruling BJP nominated sitting MLA Atanasio Monserrate from Panaji – which Manohar Parrikar had represented for over two decades. Monserrate is one of ten legislators who had joined the saffron party in July 2019 after quitting the Congress.
Parrikar also claimed that denying a ticket to him is similar to the situation in 1994, when attempts were made to throw his father out of the party. “The one who has been witness to the history will understand what I am saying. It was the time when the BJP was trying to establish itself in areas where the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) was prominent,” he said.
Laxmikant Parsekar:
Goa's former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Laxmikant Parsekar, who was denied ticket by the party quit the ruling saffron party. Parsekar, who is contesting as an independent candidate has filed his nomination from Mandrem constituency. The senior leader disassociated with the ruling party after 32 years to chart new course. BJP has announced its sitting MLA Dayanand Sopte as its candidate from the constituency.
Earlier, he was the three-term MLA and former state BJP president, who has represented the Mandrem constituency in North Goa since 2002 until his defeat in 2017 has said that he was taken for granted by the party and ignored in favor of a non-performing MLA.
Parsekar was the BJP's manifesto committee for the upcoming Goa elections and also a member of the party's core committee.
Mr Parsekar was the Chief Minister of Goa between 2014 and 2017. He was selected to head the state after the then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was inducted into the Union Cabinet as the Defence Minister.
Vishwajeet and Divya Rane:
Pratapsingh Rane, the Congress veteran in Goa decided to put his weight against son Vishwajeet in the assembly election scheduled on February 14.
Vishwajeet who has represented Valpoi assembly seat since 2007, has been mostly in the Congress but joined the BJP in 2017 after elections and helped Manohar Parrikar become chief minister.
An ambitious Vishwajeet had planned to field Divya, a medical practitioner, from Poriem a year ago. He wanted senior Rane to take rest and pave way for Divya’s entry in the Assembly. Upset with the Congress for failing to form a government in spite of emerging as single-largest party, Vishwajeet had quit the party in 2017, even before taking oath as an MLA. Later, he won the by-election on a BJP ticket.
Vishwajeet believes that two MLAs from the party—him and Divya—would give him strength to stake claim on the CM’s post if the BJP secures simple majority. As he has good relations with other leaders, he plans on bargaining for the top post. He has made Divya launch a mass connect programme, mixing with the people, interacting with them and projecting herself as their well-wisher.
