Goa assembly polls: ‘Uzzo’ in St Andre as RG’s 28-year-old Borkar upsets 4-time MLA Francis Silveira

PANAJI: Defying all assumptions about its prospects in Goa’s polity, Revolutionary Goans (RG) party made a rather impressive entry. In a single stroke, its 28-year-old candidate

Viresh

Borkar defeated BJP’s Francis

Silveira

in

St Andre

constituency, while in several constituencies, RG candidates, all of them first-timers even out-performed AAP candidates.

Borkar, who won the St Andre seat by a wafer-thin margin of 76 votes, said that unlike other parties, RG fought the elections without money and muscle power.

“Our hard work has paid off. We have won without money and muscle power. In every constituency, we have polled a sizeable number of votes,” said

Borkar

after his victory against veteran Silveira, who had been a minister in the past. Borkar received good support from the youth, who wanted change.

RG’s aggression and zest to take up issues close to Goans’ hearts brought them easy support. In many constituencies, its candiates scored more than 2,000 votes, with some even crossing the 3,000-mark.

RG supremo Manoj Parab polled 6,319 votes in Valpoi, a stronghold of BJP’s Vishwajit Rane, who won by a margin of 7,747 votes. The AAP candidate in Valpoi could only get 2,548 votes.

In Tivim, too, where Parab contested, RG polled 4,959 votes, while AAP could only get 413.

RG supporter Mayuresh Naik from Savordem said that unlike former health minister Rane, they had no jobs to offer in Valpoi. “We would have won 3,000 more votes in Valpoi if we could effectively deal with the unemployment issue,” he said. He said that he has devoted his time to work for the party without taking up a job, as RG is the only party that takes up issues affecting Goenkars.

RG performed comparatively better in South Goa constituencies, mainly in Salcete. In three constituencies, its candidates polled more than 3,000 votes and in Nuvem, their candidate was a runner-up. RG indicated that they would work to build a strong base in the constituencies they received good suppport in.

Meanwhile, speaking about RG’s impact, veteran MGP politician said, “Revolutionary Goans has changed the total scenario of politics in Goa. RG polling 10-15% of votes in many constituencies has resulted in turmoil, as several candidates lost by a narrow margin of less than 500 votes. People were unhappy with BJP for reasons like corruption, etc, and the anti-BJP vote was split”.


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