Triangular contest on cards in Salcete for zilla panchayat polls

Margao: Salcete with nine zilla panchayat constituencies is set to witness an intense three-cornered battle between the Congress-Goa Forward Party (GFP) alliance, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and independents, as BJP has a marginal presence in this Catholic-dominated taluka.Altogether 42 candidates are in the fray in Raia, Nuvem, Colva, Benaulim, Davorlim, Velim, Curtorim, Guirdolim and Navelim constituencies.The BJP plans to support independent candidates while fielding only a few of its own, owing to its limited appeal in this belt.Fierce multi-cornered contests are on the cards. In Raia, where six candidates are vying, the main fight will be between Congress, GFP and AAP.Similar is the situation in Benaulim where six contenders are in the fray, including those fielded by Revolutionary Goans, AAP, Congress, and NCP.In Nuvem, Congress’s Anthony Braganza faces AAP’s Luis Barreto and Revolutionary Goans’ Sebastian Silveira in a three-cornered fight.The Davorlim constituency presents a rare BJP challenge with Satyavijay Naik contesting against Congress’s Floriano Fernandes. In Guirdolim, BJP’s Gokuldas Gaonkar will compete against AAP’s Joseph Pishit and Congress’s Sanjay Velip who rebelled against BJP.Political observers in the state said that the real contest lies between the Congress-GFP alliance and AAP, which has steadily expanded its footprint in Salcete since 2017.

The fragmented opposition could benefit certain candidates, though the BJP’s move of limited engagement suggests the saffron party has strategically conceded ground in these constituencies, they added.“With local political satraps wielding considerable influence and multiple parties likely to fragment the anti-BJP vote, the outcome in Salcete could be anybody’s guess,” a political commentator said.