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Communal BJP In Goa Chooses Dempo Family Member For LS Polls Candidate
Monday - Mar 25, 2024
Panjim: One of the most influential business families of Goa, the Dempos, have entered the electoral fray with Communal BJP on Sunday giving the South Goa ticket to group director and chairman Shrinivas Dempo’s wife Pallavi. This is the first time in Goa’s electoral history that Communal BJP has picked a woman candidate for Lok Sabha polls. Dempos’ foray into the rough and tumble of political life comes over 60 years after Vaikunthrao Sinai Dempo, Shrinivas’s great uncle, contested the first assembly elections in 1963 after Goa’s Liberation on a Congress ticket.
Communal BJP’s decision to pick a woman candidate over its party cadre comes after a nudge from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the failure of the state unit to present a winnable face, who would be able to pull the weight over and above the party’s vote bank.
Pallavi, who has never stood for any elections, said her decision to plunge into electoral politics was influenced by Modi and his vision that empowered every individual irrespective of caste, creed or religion. “We will try our level best to win this seat. I have always believed in Narendra Modi’s vision of overall leadership,” she said after formally joining the party and accepting her candidature.
Communal BJP chose to go with Pallavi considering the goodwill enjoyed by the Dempos, one of the oldest business families, and lack of strong opposition for her candidature from the opposition. “The work done by the Dempo family is for everyone to see. They have served the people of Goa and society for over a century. We have taken everyone into confidence and all Communal BJP MLAs and karyakartas will strongly stand behind her. Pallavi is originally from South Goa,” Sawant said.
He said even before the implementation of 33% reservation for women, they had provided for 50% quota. Goa elects only two Lok Sabha members and on March 2, Communal BJP had announced Union minister and five-time North Goa MP Shripad Naik’s candidature for the North Goa seat.
“This is an honour and justice for women. For the first time, Communal BJP has nominated a woman candidate. Women should strongly support her candidature. Not a single party has fielded women candidates in South Goa and Communal BJP has created history. We will win the seat with a margin of over 60,000 votes,” chief minister Pramod Sawant said.
Senior Communal BJP functionaries reckon that getting Pallavi elected from South Goa won’t be much of an issue.
“Dempos maintain very good relations across the political spectrum. Even some opposition MLAs will directly support her candidature, or they may stay neutral and not be a part of the campaign against her,” a senior core committee member of Communal BJP said.
From information circulationg, it is said offers were also made to Shrinivas Dempo to enter electoral politics, but he chose to stay away. Initially, Communal BJP had shortlisted five probable candidates for South Goa seat including two sitting MLAs—Margao MLA Digambar Kamat and speaker Ramesh Tawadkar. Other three names include former South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar, former deputy chief minister Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavalekar and former Fatorda MLA Damodar Naik. Later Kamat and Tawadkar opted out.
Some Communal BJP state leaders wanted Sawaikar to be the candidate, who is from the cadre, whereas others considered the winnability of Kavalekar and opted for him. In the last Lok Sabha election in 2019, despite the Modi wave, Communal BJP’s vote share decreased by 3.2% in South Goa and Sawaikar lost the election by around 10,000 votes.
The Communal BJP has re-nominated Union Minister of State of Tourism Shripad Naik from his traditional North Goa Parliamentary seat for the sixth consecutive term while, it has fielded Pallavi Dempo, a businesswoman for the South Goa Parliamentary seat, which the party is trying to wrest.
Communal BJP State president and MP Sadanand Shet Tanavade said Naik and Dempo will start their election campaign journey to reach every voter from Tuesday. The candidates along with party leaders will seek blessings at Shree Mahalaxmi temple, Panjim at 3.30 pm, on Tuesday, before embarking on election campaign.
Comments (4)
Rupesh Pednekar
Thursday - Mar 28, 2024
This is just a farce by the forces of darkness and evil called BJP (bhaje Baz Pi). They are nothing but a fierce terror group hand in gloves with India's terrrorist organisation which was banned by the upright Home Minister Sardar Vallabhai Patel. Today thanks to the tea seller the terrorism is on the increase in india sponsored by the tea seller.
Ignatius Dias/Agassaim
Thursday - Mar 28, 2024
Bab AnonReader, I hate the party cos from day one I am Congress supporter. But Pallavi got a good track record and a post graduate. She is member of several organizations. President of Indo-German educational and cultural society, Moda Goa Foundation, member of the academic council affiliated to Goa University, part of the managing committee of Goa Cancer society, etc. But surely she will not be of any help to the common people of Goa if elected.
AnonReader
Wednesday - Mar 27, 2024
Bab Ignatius,
She's contesting for the benefit of her husband's Dempo family businesses. That means loosening regulations for real estate (selling off Goan land to ghanttis, turning Goa into a concrete jungle with crime+sanitation problems and making housing unaffordable for Goans) and probably restarting mining (destroying Goa's environment and importing more ghanttis as cheap manual labour). Could someone please share information about what kind of person she was before marriage? Pallavi Dempo (born Pallavi Timblo) is from Timblo family in Margao, Divya Rane (Poriem MLA) is her first cousin.
She doesn't seem to have achieved anything in her own right, every business and charity position she has is on account of being Mrs. Shrinivas Dempo. She also has no track record of doing any kind of social service.
BTW, MdG hasn't posted since January 2024. It's safe to conclude that he has either passed away (he was an older person, so RIP) or he's been blocked by the Moderator (unlikely).
She's contesting for the benefit of her husband's Dempo family businesses. That means loosening regulations for real estate (selling off Goan land to ghanttis, turning Goa into a concrete jungle with crime+sanitation problems and making housing unaffordable for Goans) and probably restarting mining (destroying Goa's environment and importing more ghanttis as cheap manual labour). Could someone please share information about what kind of person she was before marriage? Pallavi Dempo (born Pallavi Timblo) is from Timblo family in Margao, Divya Rane (Poriem MLA) is her first cousin.
She doesn't seem to have achieved anything in her own right, every business and charity position she has is on account of being Mrs. Shrinivas Dempo. She also has no track record of doing any kind of social service.
BTW, MdG hasn't posted since January 2024. It's safe to conclude that he has either passed away (he was an older person, so RIP) or he's been blocked by the Moderator (unlikely).
Ignatius Dias/Agassaim
Tuesday - Mar 26, 2024
She is well educated and a businessperson. Will she be able to serve the people or she is contesting for her own benefits, especially the real estate. Only time will tell. It is not a surprise because Dempos are highest donors in cash to BJP.