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ELECTIONS '96

Congress pips BJP in Goa, sitting MPs a poor third

In a neck and neck fight till the last minute of counting, the Congress managed to pip the Bharatiya Janata Party, with the latter putting up an unexpectedly good show. The sitting MPs from both the constituencies, Union minister Ramakant Khalap and Chruchill Alemao, were comprehensively defeated.

In Panaji (North Goa), former state chief minister Ravi Naik defeated Pandurang Raut, his former colleague and now with the BJP, by a narrow margin of 417. Union Law Minister Khalap came a poor third, raising doubts about the future of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, which had ruled the state for 17 years.

On the other hand, in the Mormugao (South Goa) constituency, Alemao's United Goans Democratic Party caused considerable damage to the Congress and the MGP by polling around 10 per cent votes in its maiden Lok Sabha contest though it came only third.

Francisco Sardinha, a former Congress minister in Goa, won the Mormugao seat by a margin of 7,876 votes against the BJP's Ramakant Angle. Alemao, who had defeated Eduardo Faleiro the last time, came third, 11,000 votes behind Sardinha.

North Goa maintained its tradition of not reelecting the same MP for a second consecutive term. Accepting the defeat of the United Front in Goa, Khalap said the stability plank put forth by the BJP and the projection of Atal Behari Vajpayee as prime minister influenced the highly-literate state of Goa.

But Naik, the Congress MP-elect, said Khalap failed to attend to his duties in the constituency. And while appreciating the BJP's excellent performance in the state, the former Congress chief minister blamed dissidents within his party for his 'poor victory.'

The BJP appears to have made a major impact in the state, especially in the Hindu-dominated areas in the southern part.

The performance of Angle, even in the remote tribal areas, has surprised everyone. Sardinha managed to come through only because of the support of the Catholic-dominated areas of Salcette and Mormugao, where the BJP candidate hardly polled five to ten per cent votes. Sardinha polled 100,000 votes against the BJP's 92,000.

The Congress performed well in Salcette, despite Alemao's inroads. It could emerge as the winner only because it came second in all the areas where the BJP led.