he BJP top brass, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Goa campaign in-charge Devendra Fadnavis, met with Lobo to sort things out, but the stalemate continues.
As Lobo is unmoved, the BJP has started implementing Plan B and tightened the noose around the two-time MLA.
First, the BJP inducted the close friend of Lobo and Saligao MLA Jayesh Salgaocar after making him resign from Goa Forward. It is being said that Lobo was in touch with Salgaocar for his plans to join Congress.
Now, after Salgaocar, BJP has got the big fish Rohan Khaunte, who has a sound influence in the Bardez taluka.
Now sources reveal that the BJP is also talking with the Siolim MLA Vinod Palyekar and Congress candidate from Mapusa Sudhir Kanolkar.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
With the induction of former Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte, the BJP has somewhat tightened the noose around the dissenting. MLA and Minister Michael Lobo.
Lobo, visibly unhappy with the BJP, has been doing flip-flops over his plans to join the Congress party as the saffron brigade has almost refused to give his wife Delilah Lobo from the Siolim constituency.
This is one of the main reasons Lobo has been making stray statements against the minister and MLAs in his own government.
The BJP top brass, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Goa campaign in-charge Devendra Fadnavis, met with Lobo to sort things out, but the stalemate continues.
As Lobo is unmoved, the BJP has started implementing Plan B and tightened the noose around the two-time MLA.
First, the BJP inducted the close friend of Lobo and Saligao MLA Jayesh Salgaocar after making him resign from Goa Forward. It is being said that Lobo was in touch with Salgaocar for his plans to join Congress.
Now, after Salgaocar, BJP has got the big fish Rohan Khaunte, who has a sound influence in the Bardez taluka.
Now sources reveal that the BJP is also talking with the Siolim MLA Vinod Palyekar and Congress candidate from Mapusa Sudhir Kanolkar.
If BJP manages to get Sudhir, it will be a major setback to Lobo as he has already announced the name of himself, Delilah and Sudhir Kanolkar for “Mission Bardez”.
This has been a perfect plan of BJP of isolating the “most influential” MLA in Bardez taluka Michael Lobo.
The execution of the plan has been so meticulous that suddenly, Lobo finds himself in “no man’s land”.
With the BJP growing stronger yet again, Lobo cannot go to Congress nor can he stay in BJP as many in the party are against the MLA being re-fielded on party symbol.
Many say that outspoken Calangute MLA may abruptly abandon his wife’s campaign in Siolim and stay with BJP, or he may field his wife from Siolim on an independent ticket and himself contest on BJP ticket.
Whatever is said and done, with or without anybody’ support, one has to agree that Lobo alone is a force to reckon with and can win Calangute even without any party symbol.
Though BJP has a strong base in Calangute, it would be a tough task for the party to get a leader who can defeat a politician of the calibre of Michael Lobo.
In the past 10 years, Lobo has helped people of his constituency and worked in the suburbs of his constituency. As a result, he enjoys great camaraderie with the voters of Siolim, Saligao, Porvorim, Mapusa and parts of Aldona.
So, even though Amit Shah and Co have been able to checkmate Lobo elsewhere, the BJP may find it impossible to conquer the Calangute fortress without Lobo.
The constituency has a sizeable number of minority voters, who would mostly vote against the saffron brigade. Only Michael Lobo has managed to win their votes as an individual and not on the BJP symbol so far.
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