At Congress Goa march, voters’ message: ‘Set aside egos, unite against BJP’

One unanimous message reverberated among those gathered in Aldona at the Congress’s “Goy Rakhonn Yatra (Save Goa March)”: the Opposition must keep “aside their egos” and unite against the BJP”.

“Everyone has to be united. All the Opposition parties need to set aside together … to fight against the BJP and save Goa,” said Arthur D’Mello, a resident of Moira in North Goa’s Bardez taluka, during the Yatra on Saturday.

The 27-day march commenced Wednesday and is scheduled to cover all 40 Assembly constituencies of the state. The Congress has projected the yatra as a campaign against the BJP’s “misrule”, with land conversion, unemployment, and environmental degradation emerging as recurring concerns.

Separate Opposition camps

Earlier this month, the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced an alliance for the Assembly elections under the banner “Goa First”. The two parties have reiterated that the alliance would remain “non-BJP, non-Congress” but have kept the “door open” for other like-minded parties. The Congress, meanwhile, has announced an “in-principle understanding” with the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) to contest the elections together.

For voters such as 68-year-old Eusebio D’sa of Moira, the prospect of a divided Opposition is not ideal. “There is a lot of anti-incumbency. Unemployment and land conversions are the biggest issues in Goa. Goans are selling their land to outsiders because they have no other option. Vast tracts of land are being indiscriminately converted under controversial pieces of legislation,” he said.

The BJP emerged as the single-largest party in the 2022 Assembly elections, winning 20 of the 40 seats. The Congress won 11. The GFP, which contested the election in alliance with the Congress, won one seat, represented by its chief and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai. The AAP, which fought the election independently, won two seats in South Goa.

However, eight Congress MLAs subsequently joined the BJP in September 2022, reducing the party’s strength to three.

Defection a concern

For voters in Aldona, the issue is not merely one of political numbers but of the mandate they believe they give their elected representatives.

“The elected representatives have to be accountable. This defection of legislators from one party to its rival has to stop. It is stealing the mandate from the people. It is not fair,” said Christopher Mendez, 66, a local resident.

D’Mello said the anti-defection law should go further. “If an MLA defects, their membership of the Assembly should be cancelled. The anti-defection law has to ensure that the legislators do not switch sides overnight. They are betraying the people.”

For Mendez, the concerns extend beyond party politics. “I think it’s high time we need a change. People have given the BJP almost three terms and we haven’t seen much of a difference in governance. The state’s ecology is being destroyed… hills are being cut. We want to give a chance to the party which will protect Goa,” he said.

The Congress MLA from Aldona, Carlos Ferreira, echoed these concerns, framing the election as a contest over the future of Goa’s land and environment.

“What we have witnessed in the last 15 years of BJP rule… is destroying Goa. This is something that has touched the heart of every Goan. You (BJP) claim development, but what is happening is the loot and sale of Goa,” Ferreira said.

Core issue

One of the issues at the centre of the Congress campaign is Section 39A of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act. The provision allows changes to the zoning of land parcels and modifications to the Regional Plan and Outline Development Plans at the direction of the government.

Critics have argued that such changes can undermine the state’s planning framework and protections for ecologically sensitive areas, and allege that they can be influenced by real estate interests and individual demands.

The Congress has said it will scrap the provision if voted to power. “We have a regional plan. But through these piecemeal conversions in the plan… the state’s ecology is being destroyed. This destruction has to be stopped,” Ferreira said.

For the Congress, the land question is also tied to the changing economics of the state.

“Land is a gold mine over here. Today, Goans cannot afford to buy land in their state, while people from other states are buying villas here. This yatra’s purpose is to awaken the people,” Ferreira said.

As the Congress’s march moves through Goa’s 40 constituencies, the Opposition’s challenge is therefore two-fold: to turn concerns over land, ecology, and governance into a political campaign, and resolve the differences among parties that want to challenge the BJP in 2027.