Not referendum, poll will help gauge MLAs’ performance: Sawant

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Saturday that the ZP election is not a referendum on his govt, but that its result would help him and BJP to assess the performance of MLAs and the organisation’s strength ahead of the upcoming 2027 assembly elections. “I don’t consider the ZP election as a referendum, but whatever administrative changes have to be made, they will definitely be made,” he said.

Sawant said that BJP would win more than 35 of the 40 seats it has contested. “We will win more than 35 seats, and with the help of alliance candidates, BJP will form the ZPs in both North Goa and South Goa. MGP will win all three seats,” he said, adding that “along with alliance partners, BJP will win 43 seats”.

The CM expressed confidence that the people of the state would stand with him. “This is a major election to gauge the sentiments of the public and to prepare for the 2027 assembly election. It will help me and the party assess the performance of MLAs and the party organisation’s strength,” he told TOI. He said that the people would vote for BJP, given the development in Goa during his seven-year tenure and 11 years of PM Narendra Modi’s tenure. “Our govt has always focused on rural development and self-reliance. Except for some people who are against us, all are with BJP,” he said.


He said that over the past 63 years (since Liberation), nobody has been able to regularise the houses in the state. “Over the past four years, we has been brainstorming to resolve the issue. I have introduced the majhe ghar scheme, and it is a 100% successful scheme that has benefited BJP in the ZP polls. Before the 2027 elections, all houses in the state will be legalised.”

Explaining how the election will help BJP assess the performance of the MLAs and their connection to the grassroots, he said. “We will be able to judge how much MLAs are involved with the public, and this will help us strengthen the organisation”.

The CM said that there are several reasons for introducing new candidates, and that BJP has given tickets to only three ZP members. Sawant said that some constituencies are reserved for women, and others are reserved based on caste. “When we give tickets to new faces, karyakartas get opportunities to contest elections,” he said. “For example, in my constituency, the candidate was in the party for the past 30 years, and when a ticket is given to such karyakartas, other karyakartas gain confidence that their work will be recognised by the party in the future, and that they too can get a ticket to contest the election,” said Sawant said, adding that “we have tried to show that even small karyakartas in BJP can get a ticket”.Sawant also said that the party faced criticism for giving tickets to outsiders and Congress members who joined the party, but he said that the party has given tickets to cadre-based karyakartas. “This will help our cadres grow in the party,” said Sawant.

Explaining the need for ZP in Goa he said that if there is no need for it, “ZP candidates and members would feel bad”. “It is a three-tier system,” he said. “Due to ZPs, more development work is taken up in the state. We get new public representatives, and it strengthens democracy.”



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