Lok Sabha election snuffs out RG uzzo

Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP), the only regional party which contested the Lok Sabha election, failed to make an impact at the elections. The party was unable to come anywhere close to the 10% vote share which it secured in the 2022 assembly election.

In the 2022 state assembly polls, RGP took everyone by surprise by securing over 93,000 votes and winning one seat. However, in the Lok Sabha polls, the party fell short, winning only 64,578 votes.

RGP chief Manoj Parab performed better in North Goa, polling 45,693 votes, while South Goa candidate Rubert Pereira could not make any inroads in the minority-dominated areas and finished with 18,885 votes, almost two lakh less than the winner, Capt Viriato Fernandes of Congress.

The party had around 7% of the vote share at the Lok Sabha elections on debut. The electorate did not appear to buy into the party's election campaign which revolved around preserving Goa's identity and protecting the rights of Goans, since the election was to select the next Prime Minister of the country, a political observer said.

RGP had won one assembly seat in North Goa, St Andre, but even in this constituency, voters chose to stay away from the regional party and instead voted for Congress in large numbers.

RGP got around 3,433 votes in St Andre, as compared to the 5,675 votes that Congress polled.


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