Laxmikant Parsekar’s decision to throw his hat into the ring as an independent candidate for the eletions has changed political equations in Mandrem. What seemed like a straight fight between BJP and MGP has now turned triangular.
Sitting BJP legislator and its candidate now Dayanand Sopte, MGP candidate Jit Arolkar and Parsekar as an independent are all jostling for the seat.
“Anger has been brewing against Sopte for the last three years, while anger against Parsekar (which led to his defeat in 2017) has subsided. Jit is being looked at as a new and young face for the constituency,” a political observer said.
Most in the constituency believe that the fight will be a close one with a winning margin of less than a thousand votes, probably decided by the silent voter.
If Parsekar manages to win, it will be the first for an independent candidate in Mandrem. It will also be a major embarrassment for BJP as the party denied him the ticket, stating that the veteran politician was not in a position to win from here, as per results of its internal survey.
After Parsekar became the chief minister in the year 2014, when Manohar Parrikar was elevated to the position of defense minister in the Union cabinet, he was more focused on administration which led to him losing touch with the constituents.
“Parsekar has now started realizing that connect with people is of utmost importance. He has started approaching people seeking their support,” said a resident of Arambol.
A Mandrem resident said Sopte’s confidence has been sky-high since he defeated Parsekar with a margin of over 7000 votes in 2017. Even in the byelection as a BJP candidate, he won by a margin of 4,000 votes.
“His arrogance has now forced people to move away from him. Parsekar has taken this opportunity to revive his political career,” the resident said.
After Parsekar was denied the ticket by BJP, agitated supporters forced him to contest as an independent candidate. Soon enough, he quit the party after an association of 32 years.
For the first time, Congress, who has won the constituency twice, including in 2017, has left the seat to its alliance partner Goa Forward. Former BJP zilla panchayat member Deepak Kalangutkar is now the alliance candidate.
“In addition to Congress votes, there are over 4,500 minority voters in the constituency. It would be interesting to see whom these voters support as Congress doesn’t have a candidate,” a political observer said.
A minority voter from Morjim said with Parsekar breaking ties with BJP, he could now be an option.
“Parsekar is a respectable person in the constituency, but we were reluctant to vote for him as he belonged to BJP. We can now think of him as an option,” he said.
Arolkar, too, has enough goodwill in the constituency.
“In times of Covid pandemic, it was Jit who reached out to people. Without being part of the government, he has gone out of his way to do people’s personal work,” said a resident of Arambol.
“During every election, there is polarization between Maratha and Bhandari community. But this time, the intensity has increased to a very large extent,” a political observer said, adding that Parsekar is a strong candidate from the Maratha community.
The roles of former legislators Ramakant Khalap and Sangeeta Parab, both with a good voter base in Mandrem, are also being looked at with keen interest.
After joining BJP, Sopte was rewarded with the chairmanship of Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), which helped him take up developmental projects of over Rs 500 crore in the coastal constituency.
Whether that’s enough remains to be seen.
Sitting BJP legislator and its candidate now Dayanand Sopte, MGP candidate Jit Arolkar and Parsekar as an independent are all jostling for the seat.
“Anger has been brewing against Sopte for the last three years, while anger against Parsekar (which led to his defeat in 2017) has subsided. Jit is being looked at as a new and young face for the constituency,” a political observer said.
Most in the constituency believe that the fight will be a close one with a winning margin of less than a thousand votes, probably decided by the silent voter.
If Parsekar manages to win, it will be the first for an independent candidate in Mandrem. It will also be a major embarrassment for BJP as the party denied him the ticket, stating that the veteran politician was not in a position to win from here, as per results of its internal survey.
After Parsekar became the chief minister in the year 2014, when Manohar Parrikar was elevated to the position of defense minister in the Union cabinet, he was more focused on administration which led to him losing touch with the constituents.
“Parsekar has now started realizing that connect with people is of utmost importance. He has started approaching people seeking their support,” said a resident of Arambol.
A Mandrem resident said Sopte’s confidence has been sky-high since he defeated Parsekar with a margin of over 7000 votes in 2017. Even in the byelection as a BJP candidate, he won by a margin of 4,000 votes.
“His arrogance has now forced people to move away from him. Parsekar has taken this opportunity to revive his political career,” the resident said.
After Parsekar was denied the ticket by BJP, agitated supporters forced him to contest as an independent candidate. Soon enough, he quit the party after an association of 32 years.
For the first time, Congress, who has won the constituency twice, including in 2017, has left the seat to its alliance partner Goa Forward. Former BJP zilla panchayat member Deepak Kalangutkar is now the alliance candidate.
“In addition to Congress votes, there are over 4,500 minority voters in the constituency. It would be interesting to see whom these voters support as Congress doesn’t have a candidate,” a political observer said.
A minority voter from Morjim said with Parsekar breaking ties with BJP, he could now be an option.
“Parsekar is a respectable person in the constituency, but we were reluctant to vote for him as he belonged to BJP. We can now think of him as an option,” he said.
Arolkar, too, has enough goodwill in the constituency.
“In times of Covid pandemic, it was Jit who reached out to people. Without being part of the government, he has gone out of his way to do people’s personal work,” said a resident of Arambol.
“During every election, there is polarization between Maratha and Bhandari community. But this time, the intensity has increased to a very large extent,” a political observer said, adding that Parsekar is a strong candidate from the Maratha community.
The roles of former legislators Ramakant Khalap and Sangeeta Parab, both with a good voter base in Mandrem, are also being looked at with keen interest.
After joining BJP, Sopte was rewarded with the chairmanship of Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), which helped him take up developmental projects of over Rs 500 crore in the coastal constituency.
Whether that’s enough remains to be seen.
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