Bardez has been BJP’s stronghold since 2012, having bagged all six seats in the taluka at the last assembly polls. But history tells us a different story
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MAPUSA
Statistics tell a story, and if election records in Bardez are of any indication, Congress never won from Mapusa and Siolim since Goa’s first election soon after liberation in 1963.
Similarly, with 1989 (after statehood) as an indicator, fortunes have been fluctuating alternately between the two national parties in Tivim in the last six terms.
Likewise, except for 2012, Congress has been a force to reckon with in Calangute, Aldona and Saligao.
MAPUSA: Save twice in 1980 when Shamsunder Neogi won the Mapusa seat on the Congress (U) ticket and in 1999 when Francis D’Souza first won his election on Goa Rajiv Congress ticket, Mapusa always sent a MGP man to the assembly and from 2002 Mapusa has been represented by the BJP nominee in the assembly.
SIOLIM: The story is no different in Siolim. From 1999 to 2012, BJP’s Dayanand Mandrekar has been elected consecutively for four terms each time getting the better of his Congress opponent. Since 1963 for eight consecutive terms, the MGP candidate won from Siolim until 1999.
Call it a jinx or just bad luck, Congress attempts to pocket Siolim failed even by fielding a two-time MGP MLA. In 1994, Congress gave its ticket to Ashok Salgaonkar who on previous two terms was elected as MLA on MGP ticket. But unfortunately, he lost the election to Chandrakant Chodankar who contested on MGP ticket in that election. Coincidentally, Chodankar had lost the earlier two terms on Congress ticket to Salgaonkar.
TIVIM: Soon after statehood (Goa attained statehood in 1987) MGP bagged the Tivim seat comfortably in 1989, but thereafter the Congress nominee won the seat twice in 1994 and 1999.
In 2002, BJP’s Sadanand Tanavde was elected from the constituency defeating his rival Nilkant Halarnkar who contested on the NCP ticket. The split in votes between NCP and Congress clearly working to Tanavde’s advantage then.
But in 2007, Halarnkar as the candidate of NCP-Congress combine got the better of Tanavde. In 2012, BJP once again wrested control of the constituency with Kiran Kandolkar unseating NCP-Congress combine’s Halarnkar.
CALANGUTE: Although BJP hoisted its flag in Calangute in 2012, after statehood the seat has always been with Congress. The only aberration, if at all was in 1999 when Suresh Parulekar on UGDP ticket got the better of Tomazinho Cardozo of Congress.
In 1989, Suresh Parulekar on Congress ticket defeated MGP’s Shrikant Malik while Tomazinho Cardozo was first elected as MLA in 1994 as Congress nominee in Calangute. Agnel Fernandes created history in the constituency being first candidate to get elected consecutively in 2002 and 2007 on the Hand symbol.
SALIGAO: Since 1989, late Dr Wilfred D’Souza had held the fort in Saligao getting elected as Congress, NCP and once on GRC ticket in 1999.
BJP first won the seat in 2007 when Dilip Parulekar defeated Dr Willy hands down. Subsequently, Parulekar was re-elected in 2012.
ALDONA: In Aldona, Congress is having an edge with its nominee getting elected thrice while BJP bagging two terms and MGP once since statehood.
In 1989, the first election after statehood, MGP’s Ratnakar Chopdekar defeated Dayanand Narvekar. In the very next term in 1994, Fatima D’Sa of Congress won the seat as Narvekar shifted to Tivim. In 1999, Ulhas Asnodkar bagged the seat for BJP.
In the next two terms 2002 and 2007, the seat was back with Congress with Narvekar’s writ running large in the constituency. He was finally defeated by BJP’s Glenn Ticlo in 2012 assembly polls.
In Porvorim’s first election after the delimitation in 2012, Independent, Rohan Khaunte ran away with the honours.
