MLAs, leaders, workers get Shah's pre-poll dose

Known to be the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) quintessential inhouse electoral strategist, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday addressed the ruling party's legislators, leaders and important functionaries holding forth on dos and don'ts in the runup to the Goa assembly polls in February 2022.

Stay connected with people was the theme of Shah's advice to the party's Goa unit, which is seemingly facing anti-incumbency after staying in power for ten years.

The BJP's Goa election incharge Devendra Fadnavis, former chief minister of Maharashtra and that State's current Opposition Leader and CT Ravi who looks after party affairs in Goa, were also part of the intra-party parleys presided by Shah.

Strategy issues were however not touched by Shah who has left the crucial decision of striking alliances with other parties with the State leadership even as there are reports that backchannel talks with estranged ally - Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party -- and its leader Sudin Dhavlikar are on.

No BJP leader was willing to come on record on the details of what transpired at the discussions.

Soon after the meeting, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant revealed that several election-related strategies were deliberated.

According to Sawant, the Union Home Minister dwelt on the roles MLAs, leaders and 'karyakatas' need to play to ensure victory for the BJP in the 2022 polls.

Shah has a penchant for drawing up out-of-the-box strategies and largescale replacement of sitting MLAs is one of his patent moves to tide over anti-incumbency in States where the party is in power for multiple terms. In Goa, the BJP is in power since 2012.

Recently, Sawant more than amply hinted this could be one of the strategies the party may adopt to face the 2022 polls, when he publicly said, it is not possible to give tickets to all sitting MLAs.

Ports minister Michael Lobo too echoed the sentiment and even suggested that he himself could be among those MLAs refused renomination by the party.

Meanwhile, Panaji MLA, Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate, has asserted that the BJP will fight the elections on its own and no alliances were discussed during Shah's two-day visit.