A repeat show: Can RGP stop Cong run in Salcete or will it meet same fate as AAP in 2019 LS polls?
As the campaign for the May 7 election for the South Goa seat heats up, one crucial question that has become a subject matter of debate in Saxtti’s political circles is simple – can the nascent Revolutionary Goans party (RGP) stop the Congress’ free run in Salcete, the minority-dominated stronghold, which had in the recent political history propelled the party and its candidates to electoral success?
Or will the RGP meet the same fate as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when the Arvind Kejriwal-led Party was left stranded midway in the minority-dominated taluka five years ago. Well, these questions are repeatedly doing the rounds in Salcete countryside as the ongoing campaign has reached a decisive stage. And, the reason is not far to seek. For, the RGP had not only made an impressive political debut in Salcete in the 2022 Assembly election, but made significant political gains while heralding its entry into the Congress territory two years ago.
Consider this for an answer: Statistics of the 2022 Assembly election provides an insight into the entry and rise of the Revolutionary Goans Party into Salcete. Take note, the nascent political party could not win a single seat in Salcete, where as many as eight Assembly seats are at stake, but the RGP left poll pundits baffled and intrigued and Congress leaders into an introspection mode over its performance in the taluka, polling a consolidated 20,883 vote.
In fact, a glance at the statistics reveal that RGP candidates had ended up with four-digit figures in most of the Assembly segments, barring Margao where the RGP finished with 722 votes.
In the four Assembly segments of Nuvem, Velim, Benaulim and Curtorim, all considered the heartland of the Christian minority, the RGP polled 3,000-plus vote, making deep inroads into the Congress bastion. In fact, the RGP emerged runners up in the Nuvem segment, leaving behind a host of political heavyweights behind, including former Minister Mickky Pacheco and exMLA Wilfred D’Sa.