Hand reconquers traditional bastion, grabs 6 of 8 in Salcete

MARGAO: Salcete has traditionally been the bastion of the Congress, and the party’s performance in the eight Catholic-dominated constituencies serves as a barometer of the party’s fate at the state level.

In 2012, when Congress was decimated, reduced as it were to a single-digit strength, the party won in just two constituencies, Margao and Curtorim. This time, however, Congress bounced back aggressively to win six of the eight seats.

The party wrested the seat from BJP’s Subhash ‘Rajan’ Naik in Cuncolim, BJP-backed independent Avertano Furtado in Navelim, independent Benjamin Silva in Velim, and Francisco ‘Mickky’ Pacheco, who contested on Goa Su-Raj Party (GSRP) ticket in Nuvem, while retaining the Curtorim and Margao seats. Furtado was a minister in the BJP-led government, while Silva had extended support to the saffron party in government formation.

Congress, however, lost miserably in Benaulim and Fatorda constituencies. Former PWD minister Churchill Alemao made a stealthy comeback defeating his nearest rival, Royla Fernandes of AAP by over 5,000 votes.

Alemao chose to contest from Benaulim this time, leaving Navelim to Faleiro, in what is seen in political circles as a quid pro quo deal between the two, who were once bête noires.

Congress, however, was relegated to the fourth position in Benaulim, with its candidate Edwin Barreto, trailing behind independent Caetano Silva.

In Fatorda constituency, Congress repeated its abysmal performance with its candidate, Joseph Silva, pushed to the fourth position. Here, Vijai Sardesai (Goa Forward Party) came up trumps defeating his nearest rival, Damodar ‘Damu’ Naik of BJP by a narrow margin of 1,334 votes.

Furtado’s defeat in Navelim is a major setback for BJP which was trying to gain a foothold in Salcete taluka through strategically supporting independents in a few constituencies.

In Nuvem, Francisco ‘Mickky’ Pacheco who took over the reins of the GSRP ahead of the elections, lost miserably to Congress candidate, Wilfred D’Sa. This is the first time Pacheco lost the assembly elections since his electoral debut in 2002. He has contested on a different party ticket every election.