Panaji, March 30 (IANS) At least 19 candidates are in the fray for the two Lok Sabha seats in Goa and none of the parties seem to be on a sure footing with the election less than three-week away.
Seven candidates are contesting for the North Goa seat, where sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Shripad Naik will see a tough challenge by Congress leader Ravi Naik. In the battle, both the members of the numerically powerful Bhandari caste appear similarly matched.
While Ravi has been chief minister twice, Shripad is a three-time BJP MP and was a former union minister of state in the National Democratic Alliance government at the centre.
Similarly both are plagued by their respective weaknesses. While the Congressman has been linked to the drug mafia in a legislative committee report on drug mafia-police-politician nexus, the BJP candidate could be hit by cumulative anti-incumbency and is often seen battling allegations of lacklustre performance in parliament.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Dattaram Desai, a medical practitioner is also an activist of the yesteryears. Once a part of Shripad Naik's core team, Desai has dollops of regard in Goa's rural areas, but he appears to be lagging behind the two mainstream heavyweights.
Communist party of India (Marxist) leader Suhas Naik and former deputy chief minister Dayanand Narvekar as an Independent candidate are the other significant candidates locked in the contest, after the last date for withdrawal of nomination expired Saturday.
In South Goa constituency, the contest is even more spread out, with 12 contestants in the fray.
With the sitting Congress MP Francisco Sardinha denied a ticket for the seat, which has more often than not returned a Christian candidate, the party has fielded its legislator Aleixo Reginaldo. His biggest challenge comes from Narendra Savoikar of the BJP, who was runner up in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
While its never been easy going for the BJP in South Goa, its chances look better this time, with two Congress rebels throwing their hat in the ring.
Former chief minister Churchill Alemao resigned from the Congress after the party refused to heed his demand of allotting his daughter the seat. He is now contesting as an Independent.
The other rebel is Sardinha's son Shalom, who resigned from the party, accusing the Congress leadership of being "disrespectful" to his father by denying him a ticket.
Both are expected to nick crucial votes of the Christian community from the Congress kitty, which could prove costly for Reginaldo.
AAP's Swati Kerkar and tribal leader Govind Gaude are the other key contestants for the seat.
Goa's two Lok Sabha seats go to polls April 17.
Traffic Jam In Delhi: Big comments of Supreme Court, Public roads should not be blocked during protests
New Delhi. The Supreme Court has made important remarks during the hearing on Friday during the protest march between Noida and Ghaziabad to Delhi. The country's highest court said that public roads
Himani Murder Case: 'Some big personality is involved', Himani's mother told Hooda; Former CM said- tell me his name
Former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda reached his house on Sunday after his mother Savita revealed that she was not satisfied with the police investigation in the murder case of Congress worker Himani
This new actor enters the Battle of Galwan, will he become an Indian Army officer like Salman Khan?
Earlier this month, superstar Salman Khan announced his upcoming much-talked-about film, Battle of Galwan. As an actor, this is a big thing for Salman, and his career is linked to this movie. For a
Now this company has launched a very cheap 5G smartphone, Oppo Vivo will compete with these phones of Realme Redmi
Smartphone maker iQoo has launched a cheap smartphone in India. This is a cheap smartphone of the company. Let us tell you that this is the second brand of Vivo itself. The company has launched this
Republic Day: IAF's flypast will be spectacular on Republic Day, Dornier 228 aircraft will fly with turbine and biofuel
Republic Day 2024: This time on the occasion of Republic Day, heritage aircraft Dakota has been included in the \'Tangel\' formation to be flown during the flypast. It will also have two Dornier
INS Condemns 'Horrific' Paris Killings
New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS) The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) Monday denounced the "horrific shooting" at the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris that left 12 people dead."In this
Terrorists were about to kill every supporter of Nupur: prepared 40 people from Pakistan in 6 districts of Rajasthan, gave online training to all
The target of terrorists was not only Kanhaiyalal of Udaipur but all those people who had posted in support of Nupur Sharma. Pakistani organization Dawat-e-Islami and terrorists had prepared 40 people
Mamata happy over Bharat Ratna to Vajpayee
Kolkata, March 27 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday expressed happiness over the conferring of the nation's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, on former prime
Bengal bypolls show electoral manipulation: CPI-M
Kolkata, Feb 16 (IANS) The CPI-M Monday said the results of the by-polls to assembly and Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool Congress retained the seats, were a reflection
It is mandatory to show one Bengali film every day in Bengal's cinema halls. The Mamata government issued an order
It has been made mandatory for all cinema halls and multiplexes in Bengal to show at least one Bengali film every day during prime time throughout the year. In this regard, the instructions have been
