Minorities keep parties in dark

In the last phase of campaigning for the Goa Assembly elections, major political parties are aggressively wooing minority Muslim and Catholi...

In the last phase of campaigning for the Goa Assembly elections, major political parties are aggressively wooing minority Muslim and Catholic Christian communities. The elections are scheduled for May 30. Members of the two communities account for a little more than 30 per cent of the 9.5 lakh voters in this state. Political observers here say both the communities can influence the fate of candidates in as many as 30 of the 40 constituencies. All the four parties contesting the elections have selected candidates with the appropriate religious equation in mind.

Both the Congress and the BJP have got their act together, following reports that minority communities could vote en masse. The Congress has given tickets to 17 Catholics and one Muslim while the BJP has two Muslim and four Catholic candidates. The Congress’ anti-communalism campaign has already made an impact among the leaders of the Catholic Church and the Muslim Jammats.

Mumbai to Goa, Sena seeks clean sweep

PANAJI, MAY 28: The Shiv Sena is all fired up for the Goa Assembly polls on Thursday. After releasing the manifesto, Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray said that the party’s ‘‘sons of the soil’’ policy, followed in Mumbai in the 1960s, would be implemented in Goa. And if Uddhav is to be believed, the party would remove religious structures along Goa roadsides. Numerous crosses dot roadsides across the state. The manifesto highlights a plan to rename roads and villages that still retain Portuguese names.

To set up a broad base in the state, the Sena would set up offices across Goa. Ambulance services and social work too would be part of its expansion strategy. ‘‘Locals’’ would be provided housing. ‘‘It is not just the Shiv Sena’s manifesto for the polls, it’s our guide in Goa,’’ Uddhav said. Reservations for locals in government and private sector jobs too are on the cards.
Uddhav indulged in his trademark bashing of secularism, media and the Congress at all his state meetings. ‘‘We have to redefine the meaning of secularism,’’ he said. Uddhav took the opportunity to broach the Gujarat riots. He said killing Hindus in the Godhra attack triggered the violence.

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Despite all attempts, the Sena has failed to make an impact in the five years it has been in Goa. It has a token presence in some village panchayats. Its attempts to fight Assembly polls too have been damp squibs. All its 10 candidates in the 1999 Assembly polls lost their security deposits. The party, however, is undaunted. It will contest 17 seats this time. RAJU NAYAK

‘‘The Catholics here fear communal parties. If it can happen to the Muslims in Gujarat, it can happen to them,’’ says Father Carmo Martins, the spokesperson for the Archbishop’s Office in Goa. The church however, has not issued a formal edict asking for voters to defeat BJP in Goa. ‘‘The church has advised people to vote for candidates who have cultural values of Goa — peace and communal harmony at heart,’’ he says. Sources say parish priests in individual constituencies are canvassing for candidates belonging to Congress, regional United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).

Meanwhile, leaders of the Muslim community, accounting for a little more than two per cent of Goa’s population, are yet to decide on which way to go. ‘‘The elders normally take a decision at the last minute,’’ says Akbar Mulla, a prominent leader of the community. The Jamat-e-Islami-e-Hind, a Muslim organisation has circulated a leaflet titled Voters’ Guide just before the elections. The English publication urged like-minded people to ‘‘vote for secular forces for a secure tomorrow’’.