PANAJI: BJP, which fights for all 40 seats for the first time in Goa, has reduced 12 candidates, or 30%, from the Catholic community.
This doubts the numbers that have been deployed ten years ago in the 2012 election, when the six Catholic candidates appeared by winning.
In the 2017 election, he lowered seven Catholics, all of which became MLA.
The party has 3.5 members of the lakh in the state, 18% of whom are Christians.
While Hindus consists of more than 66% of Goa’s population, the state has around 25% of Christians and 8% Muslims, among others.
“BJP is not a communal party.
We want to provide representation to all parts of society, and therefore, we have given 12 members of the minority community,” said the State President of BJP Sadanand Shet Tanavade to Tani.
BJP, however, has not shed the candidate from the Muslim community.
BJP Fielding Catholics strategy began in 2012, when the former Minister of the Ministry and Main Strategist BJP Manohar Parrrocar has developed the ‘Mission Salcete’ strategy, by supporting independent and non-Congress candidates in the taluka constituency, trading their support to form a BJP-led government.
That year, his Catholic candidate in Aldona, Mapapaa, Calangute, Cortalim, Vasco, and Curchorem were all won.
In the next election, in 2017, seven seats were won by Catholic BJP candidates.
Former Deputy Minister of Chief Francis D’Souza is the face of the party among the people, and has convinced many Catholics to join BJP to oppose the selection of assembly.
Parragar and D’Souza died about a separate month in 2019.
Now, for the 2022 election, the Chairman of the Minister of Pramod Sawant said, “No need for the current Mission Salcete”.
Political observer Cleofato Almeida Coutinho said that BJP has not provided a ticket based on the religion of the candidates, but the circumstances that have forced the party to provide 12 tickets to candidates from the Catholic community.
“BJP is a cadre and karyakarta-based party usually accepts party lines.
In such situations, minority candidates with substantial followers are candidates who can be won even for BJP,” he said.
BJP Catholic Candidate for February 14 Election is Glen Ticlo (Aldona), Joshua d’Souza (Mapusa), Joseph Sequira (Calangute), the ‘Babush’ Monserrate (Panaji), Jennifer Monserrate (Taleiga), Antonio Fernandes (Santa Cruz), Francisco Silveira (St Andre), Mauvin Godinho (Dabolim), CLAFASIO DIAS (CUNCOLIM), Savio Rodrigues (Velim), Nilesh Cabral (Curchorem) and Anthony Barbosa (Curorim).
After ten Congress MLAs joined BJP in 2019, the number of MLA Catholics at BJP increased to 15, which was more than half the total amount of MLA.
On the evening of assembly elections, five Catholic mlazs came out of BJP and joined various other parties.
Former Minister of Michael Lobo and Filipe Nery Rodrigues joined Congress and NCP, while former Mla Alina Saldanha joined AAP.
Former Vasco Mla Carlos Almeida joined the congress and former Nuvem Mla Wilfried D’Sa has decided to compete as independent.