Goa BJP hits poll gear without main candidate Indo-Asian News Service Panaji, January 17, 2012
For the first time in more than a decade, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Goa has stepped into poll gear without projecting its chief ministerial candidate. After propping up its poster boy, technocrat Manohar Parrikar, as the undisputed chief ministerial candidate for more than a decade now, the opposition BJP has now said the slot was open and they would be finalising a candidate soon. "We have all options open. As and when we decide on we will let you know," Arun Jaitley, a top party leader and leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, has said in the presence of Parrikar and three-time MP from North Goa Shripad Naik, who has been challenging Parrikar's authority on state turf. Naik, a former union minister of state for civil aviation, told IANS he was keen on re-entering state politics and even identified the newly created assembly constituency of Porvorim - this is the first election after the delimitation of constituencies - as his favoured seat. "I am waiting for the party to take a decision. If they approve my coming to state politics or not, I will go as per what they say," Naik said. Parrikar has meanwhile scoffed at reports of a rift between the two, calling it a figment of media imagination. Both Naik and Parrikar were the cornerstones around which the party was built through the 1980s in Goa. Naik has a following among the Bahujan Samaj, essentially the large-in-number Bhandari community, which is a significant vote block spread liberally throughout the state. Parrikar has been the acceptable face of the party, with a diehard following among the intelligentsia and the upper class and is a draw even among Christian voters, who account for nearly 25% of Goa's vote pie. Party sources said the rift between the two could affect the party's electoral chances and cloak-and-dagger between the two factions during the poll run-up was already affecting intra-party discipline. "Both leaders appeal significantly to different sections of society and the party cannot afford to antagonise either. We are working on a compromise formula which may be acceptable to both," a senior BJP functionary said. Polls to the 40 constituencies in Goa will be held March 3. The BJP currently has 12 seats in the assembly. http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Goa/Goa-BJP-hits-poll-gear-without-main-candidate/Article1-798360.aspx * * * Goa leaders hope for divine help, fund pilgrimages IANS Panaji: Politicians in Goa have suddenly begun sponsoring pilgrimages to Hindu and Christian religious sites with gusto - possibly hoping for "divine intervention" in the March 3 polls. Both aspiring candidates as well as Election Commission officials acknowledge that Hindu and Christian voters were being sponsored for pilgrimages to Shirdi in Maharashtra - known as the destination of Sai Baba devotees - and to Vailankanni in Tamil Nadu, a famous pilgrimage site for Christians. "Yes, we conducted a raid on three buses with passengers headed for Shirdi. We had received a complaint that a political party had sponsored the trip to Shirdi," chief electoral officer S. Kumaraswamy said on Monday. The authorities let the passengers go on with the pilgrimage after verifying the travel details with the agent who did the booking for the tour. Such trips to Shirdi as well as to the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health at Vailankanni have not been uncommon over the past year, but there has been a sudden surge, with politicians and ticket aspirants hoping to convert the currency of faith into votes. "The travel arrangement, food and staying quarters are all sponsored. Generally a lot of women of the house opt for these trips. It is a weekend away from home and it is a pilgrimage. Who does not like going on a pilgrimage?" the 'travel agent' of a legislator from north Goa told IANS. Pilgrimages are conducted in jeeps, with five to six to the unit, and by busloads. And the pilgrims return home after a three-day-two-night trip with more than just blessings. "We often give a few days of rations, essentials like dals, rice, oil and a household utility like a fan or thermos on return. The per person cost is around Rs.4,000 overall, which is sponsored," an organiser of one of these tours said. For the pilgrims, however, a trip to their deity is enough to wash off all possible sins, which perhaps also includes accepting the not too subtle bribe by the aspiring politician who is sponsoring the tour. Former tourism minister Mathany Saldanha, who became one of the first big ticket Christian leaders to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last week, said sponsoring of religious pilgrimages was a leveller of sorts. "People say the BJP is communal. But look at this - people from both the Congress and the BJP are sponsoring pilgrimages to Shirdi and Vailankanni. No one is communal any more!" Saldanha said. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/goa-leaders-hope-for-divine-help-fund-pilgrimages/221993-37-64.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------