Muslims, STs missing from Congress list of candidates

In a bid to garner Hindu votes, the BJP is projecting the Congress as the main representative of the Catholic community in Goa.

In a bid to garner Hindu votes, the BJP is projecting the Congress as the main representative of the Catholic community in Goa.

Lending credence to the BJP claim is the fact that the Congress and NCP have fielded 13 and five Catholic candidates respectively in the 38 seats they are contesting from. Missing from their list are Muslims who form four per cent of the population and Scheduled Tribes. Congress has also fielded just three candidates from the Kshatriya Bhandari Samaj who comprise 25 per cent of the total population of Goa. Incidentally, state Congress president Ravi Naik belongs to the Samaj. The majority of Congress tickets have gone to Brahmins.

Kshatriya Bhandari Samaj leader Vishnu Wagh, who is also general secretary of the Congress, has openly hit out at the party leadership for not nominating enough members from the community. Others have asked members not to vote for the Congress though they are not openly backing the BJP either. However, individual leaders of the community who belong to the Youth Congress have openly revolted against the Congress and are backing various alternatives.

The fishermen-dominated Kharvi community has also turned against the Congress for not giving it enough tickets. However, the party hopes both Naik and Kharvi leader Dayanand Narvekar will keep members of their communities in check like in the past.

On the other hand, the BJP has fielded eight candidates from the Samaj in a bid to break the Congress hold on the community. The BJP has also fielded four Catholics and is officially backing Matanhy Saldanha of the United Goans Democratic Party in Cortalim.

Meanwhile, the Congress insists it has maintained the caste and religious balance of Goa. 8220;In the 2002 elections, we gave 17 seats to Catholics while we have given 13 seats this time to maintain the balance,8221; party general secretary Margaret Alva said. Added Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik: 8220;Goa8217;s Catholics are traditional supporters of the Congress, so if an impression is given that the Congress is a party of the minorities it is not such a bad thing for us.8221;