Delimitation to blame for BJP’s Fatorda poll losses, says Damu | Goa News

Margao: BJP state president Damodar Naik on Sunday attributed his party’s consecutive electoral defeats in the Fatorda constituency to demographic changes brought about by the 2012 delimitation exercise.He said that while the redrawing of boundaries severed the party’s traditional strongholds, the minority-dominated areas that largely comprised the Fatorda constituency remained beyond BJP’s electoral reach.Naik was elected MLA of Fatorda for two terms before losing to incumbent Vijai Sardesai since the 2012 assembly polls. Naik said that the delimitation process fundamentally altered Fatorda’s electoral landscape.The constituency lost significant portions of Gogol and Comba — areas where BJP traditionally enjoyed strong support — which were redistributed to neighbouring Curtorim and Margao constituencies respectively.Naik drew parallels between Fatorda and other Catholic-dominated constituencies in South Goa where BJP has struggled to make inroads. “Just as BJP is unable to penetrate Benaulim, Nuvem or Velim, we couldn’t do so in Fatorda as well since 2012 for the same reason,” he said.Sardesai has maintained his grip on the Fatorda seat across three consecutive elections — 2012, 2017, and 2022 —defeating Naik each time with margins ranging from over 1,300 to 1,500 votes.The political rivalry between Naik and Sardesai recently intensified at Friday’s BJP karyakarta melava. At the gathering, Naik challenged Sardesai to name a single signature project implemented during his 13-year tenure, even stating his readiness to quit politics if Sardesai could prove he brought any major development project to the constituency.Naik specifically highlighted his own achievements during his two-term tenure as the Fatorda MLA, citing the South Goa district hospital, South Goa collectorate complex, Ravindra Bhavan, and South Goa Planning and Development Authority’s market complex as the flagship projects completed under his leadership.His challenge was supported by Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, who publicly acknowledged that Fatorda witnessed infrastructure development during Naik’s earlier stint as the constituency’s MLA.A day later, Sardesai’s supporters countered Naik by listing various agricultural support initiatives and infrastructure maintenance projects undertaken by their leader, including free seeds, fertilisers, tractors, and harvesters for farmers, as well as desilting of nullahs to address flooding concerns.