Shiv Sena fights with ‘NOTA’ in Goa : Devendra Fadnavis

BJP was hopeful of getting the support of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) to form the government. The MGP has won two seats. The BJP already claims to have the support of three Independents.

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Mar 11, 2022 07:05
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Shiv Sena fights with ‘NOTA’ in Goa : Devendra Fadnavis

Mumbai: Former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Goa elections in-charge Devendra Fadnavis received a rousing welcome outside Maharashtra Assembly for party’s return to power in the sate for a straight third term.

Speaking to media persons, Mr. Fadnavis said, “Sena means 'BJP Sena' not Shiv Sena...Their (Shiv Sena) fight is with NOTA, not BJP...(In Goa), NCP and Sena's votes are even less than NOTA...Those who claimed to topple Pramod Sawant have themselves lost” he said quoted by ANI.

Mr. Fadnavis has attributed party’s victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma. He said women voters had also played a major role in the success. “Be it infrastructure development or social welfare, the people of Goa have seen our track record,” he added.

Goa elections in charge also said that the BJP was hopeful of getting the support of  Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) to form the government. The MGP has won two seats. The BJP already claims to have the support of three Independents.. “I am hopeful that the MGP too will join us and our combined strength in the assembly will become 25,”, he said.

The BJP, however, is in no hurry to form the government. The party’s parliamentary board is likely to send observers to elect the leader of the legislative party. Only after the legislative party leader is elected will the BJP seek an appointment with the governor to stake claim to form the government. “The present government’s tenure is not over yet,” says Fadnavis. “We will form the government soon but not in haste.”

Party’ strategy for Goa: Fielding locally influential leaders, irrespective of their party lineages, as candidates did helps the party to win the election. BJP leaders Vishwajit Pratapsingh Rane and Atanasio Monserrate won four seats for the party as their family members also won elections. What helped the BJP is also that its traditional vote base among the state’s OBCs (Other Backward Classes) remained intact. OBCs account for 34 per cent of Goa’s population.

Contrary to the perception that it lacked a strong base in south Goa, the BJP managed to win nine of the 21 seats in the region. It equalled its 2012 record in the region dominated by Catholics. In the Hindu-dominated north Goa, the BJP maintained its clout by winning 11 of the 19 seats. The party, though, faced a setback in the three seats of Calangute, Siolim and Mandrem, India today reports.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had tried to woo the OBCs by announcing that it will appoint a Bhandari community member as chief minister. This, however, did not cut ice with the OBC voters. The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which chose Goa among the first set of states in its countrywide expansion plans, drew a blank.

The BJP had projected outgoing chief minister Pramod Sawant as its CM face. The party is likely to continue with him. Sawant looks set to become only the second BJP leader, after the late Manohar Parrikar, to lead a majority government of the party in Goa. “I give all the credit to God first and then to the people of Goa,” says victorious Sawant.

Reacting to Goa’S debacle for the party,Shiv Sena MP, Sanjay Raut said that "It is right that the Sena received less votes than NOTA because we could not manage the notes used by the BJP. Still we contested in Goa and Uttar Pradesh. Our fight will continue. Victory or defeat is not the end, it is the start. In the future, we will continue to work," , Mr. Raut said.