The contest in Goa is far from over - the Congress has won 13 of the state’s 40 seats so far and the BJP is close behind with 12. Despite making a lot of noise, AAP drew a blank.
The loss in Goa is a big setback for the AAP which had been bankingon the state to expand its footprints.
1. It was always a tough call given Goa, for the first time, was seeing so many parties slug it out - the Congress, the BJP, AAP, NCP and a coalition of Shiv Sena and a rebel RSS group.
2.Defence minister Manohar Parrikar, BJP’s strategist for the state, remains a force to be reckoned with. The former Goa chief minister campaigned heavily in his home state, although he was evasive about his political future - will he continue in Delhi or move back to Goa? It’s a relevant question given chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar’s unexpected loss.
3.The Congress’ ambitious manifesto that included banning the state’s casinos might be paying off. Despite its campaign being derailed by infighting, which started as early as July 2016, the party may still win.
{{/usCountry}}3.The Congress’ ambitious manifesto that included banning the state’s casinos might be paying off. Despite its campaign being derailed by infighting, which started as early as July 2016, the party may still win.
{{/usCountry}}4.The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) - with a local, idealist running for chief minister - failed to win a single seat. Despite Delhi chief minister and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal’s campaign efforts his political brand did not translate to votes.
5.AAP was thrown off by the uniqueness of every constituency even though they prepared for it: they had individual manifestoes for each of Goa’s 40 seats.
6.The breakaway alliance of Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM), NCP and Shiv Sena did not cut into BJP’s Hindu vote.