The political landscape in Goa witnessed a significant shift as the hyper-local Revolutionary Goans (RG) party made a powerful entry into the zilla panchayat (ZP) elections. On Monday, the party secured victories in two crucial seats, proving that its earlier assembly win was not a one-off event but a sign of growing influence.
Breaching the Congress Fortress
The most notable achievement for RG was breaching the long-standing Congress bastion of Santa Cruz (St Cruz). The party followed this up with a convincing win in St Lawrence. Both these ZP seats fall within the St Andre assembly segment, represented by RG MLA Viresh Borkar. In Santa Cruz, RG candidate Esperanca Braganza emerged victorious, defeating the incumbent Congress candidate, Shiney Oliveira. Braganza secured 4,533 votes out of 12,286 polled, claiming a 37% vote share and winning by a margin of 779 votes.
The defeat in Santa Cruz was particularly embarrassing for Congress-turned-BJP MLA Rudolfo Fernandes, making him the only MLA to lose a seat in his area after switching parties. Oliveira alleged that BJP supporters were instructed to back the RG candidate to ensure her defeat, a claim that highlights the complex political maneuvering at play.
A Message Sent and a Base Consolidated
RG president Manoj Parab framed the victory as a direct rebuke. "Our victory is a tight slap on Amit Patkar’s face because of whom the alliance failed," he stated. MLA Viresh Borkar emphasized the historic nature of the win. "We have made history by winning in Santa Cruz," he said, noting that the seat was considered an impenetrable Congress fortress during discussions for a grand opposition alliance. "The reason for the alliance breaking was Santa Cruz," Borkar added.
In St Lawrence, the RG's win was even more decisive. Candidate Trupti Bakal polled 5,870 votes, leaving Congress a distant third with only 1,486 votes. The party also demonstrated its sustained support in other areas, performing well in Shiroda and finishing a close second in Siolim. "We claimed Siolim and if you see, we came second. We claimed certain seats because we worked on the ground and went door to door," Parab explained, underscoring the party's grassroots strategy.
Testing the Waters for 2027
The RG's strong performance, achieved by contesting independently, is widely seen as a test of its strength ahead of the 2027 Goa Legislative Assembly elections. The party has established itself as a force with a genuine grassroots presence, arguably becoming the only party besides the BJP to have such deep local connections at the panchayat level. Its success in overlapping areas of the St Andre constituency, through village panchayats like Batim, Curca-Bambolim, and Siridao-Paliem, shows a concentrated and effective hold.
The results indicate a fragmentation of the anti-BJP vote and signal that traditional party strongholds are no longer safe. The RG's ability to topple a Congress bastion and secure a decisive win in another seat marks the arrival of a potent, region-focused player in Goan politics, setting the stage for a more competitive and complex political environment in the years to come.
