NEWS: IN A DISAPPOINTING SHOW AT GOA, PARRIKAR SEES BJP VICTORY GOA, May 13: We've lost, but we've won. That's how BJP chief minister Manohar Parrikar sought to present the Lok Sabha elections in Goa, a state with just two seats of which the uncertain BJP alliance won one.
But the biggest setback to a BJP was the party's ouster at Delhi, since much of the BJP's clout in ruling Goa despite never winning an election here as clear winner stemmed from this. But Parrikar, an IITian metalurgist who is quick with figures and arguments besides almost always brimming with confidence, made the most of the party's setback in Goa, which some see as the beginning of the end of a party's rise to power in the most unlikelist of states. "We expected to win both the seats, but still ours is a stupendous performance. We lead in 21 assembly constituencies (out of a total of 40), and in six more constituencies lost by just five to six hundred votes. This is a haul of some 27 very strong BJP-inclined constituencies," said Parrikar with bluster, at a news conference Thursday evening. Citing figures in his favour, Parrikar claimed that the BJP had "increased" its overall vote share by 32,000 votes from 2.26 lakh to 2.58 lakh. One big setback to the BJP was the fact that Churchill Alemao, a controversial former politician who was once detained under the preventive-detention COFEPOSA law, had managed to pick up support even in the Hindu heartland of central Goa, in a state where many politicians push for a sharper religious-based polarisation as the main means of bagging votes. Parrikar went on to compare his party's latest performance with earlier showings, against the anti-incumbency tide that hit his party in other states, and claimed this was the "first time in Goa that the BJP has emerged as the single largest party". By evening, non-BJP politicians were however baying for the blood of the government, hoping that the loss of the Centre would mean the destabilising of the BJP in Goa too. In May 2002, the BJP had won 17 seats in the 40-seat Goa assembly, but went ahead to form government buouyed by the confidence that its nominee, with RSS affiliations, held the gubenatorial office here. Parrikar was on the defensive to justify what some in the media here called 'Mission Salcete' -- an attempt to woo the minority Catholic population, in the only Christian-majority heartland of Salcete in coastal South Goa. Parrikar camped for much of the tenure of the poll campaign there, obviously without making much of a dent. "Maybe it will take more efforts," the chief minister said. One major casualty of the electoral developments could be the proposed International Film Festival of India, to be held in the 'desi Cannes' of Goa in Nov-Dec 2004. A showpiece for the BJP-lead coalition in Goa, this has drawn flak for its tendency to spend lavishly and quixotically -- reportedly between Rs 300 to 350 crore -- for the ten-day annual festival, the shifting of which to Goa has drawn the ire of some filmmakers, apart from a vocal section of the local citizerny. "Central promises are a continuity. But is the government doesn't want to give (us the funds) we are capable of doing it on our own," Parrikar said when asked whether the change at the Centre would unsettle his ambitious plans in Goa. "I see no reason... IFFI has already been declared in the international timetable (for being hosted in GOa). I don't think any Central government will do this foolishness to create any problems," he added. ENDS ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
