In the BJP stronghold of North Goa, where Shripad Naik, the sitting MP, has held sway for 20 years, Girish Chodankar, his Congress opponent, is on a temple run, squeezing in multiple temple visits during a frenzied campaign day. The temple motif doesn’t end here, for Chodankar is particularly miffed that the BJP failed to deliver on the promises he says they had made at a temple in 2012. They use Hinduism only for votes, he says.
In the midst of assuring people about resuming mining, generating jobs and developing tourism- which form the major political planks in his campaign- and lambasting the BJP for not addressing these concerns, the ‘BJP’s Hinduism’ also finds a curious reference. In 2012, the BJP had talked about making Konkani the medium of instruction in all primary schools, though the party later settled for a more neutral stance and never implemented this. During a ‘corner meeting’ at a house in Mapusa, he says that the party had made these promises by going to the temple and making offerings, stressing on how they not only went back on their word, but also did not return to the temple and “fulfill their promises to God”.
As BusinessLine caught up with Chodankar during his campaign trail, he further explains, “I was explaining to them how the BJP is anti-Hindus and how they are not genuine Hindus.” It’s not like he would have wanted these promises to be fulfilled though, as he says that the Congress had given the option to the parents to choose the medium of their choice, which the BJP was opposing then.
Why does he talk about this particular instance? He says that the BJP tries to fool the common man, who sometimes believes things at face value. He is trying to expose how the BJP is the actual culprit of Hinduism, and the party has “displayed” it in Goa by “approaching a temple or God with offerings” and not fulfilling the same. “That means they are cheating the country (and) the God. That’s the main point,” he avers.
A party member says that Chodankar visits around 12 to 15 temples in a day while campaigning, which is also interspersed with occasional visits to churches and masjids.
Chodankar emphasises on the resumption of mining, generation of employment, and the development of tourism as he addresses crowds and meetings while traversing the verdant North Goa constituencies. The party members flanking him are vocal too. “If you want to save democracy, vote for Girish Chodankar,” thunders a former MLA, during a meeting.
The split of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) from the BJP and their pledge of support for Congress is also palpable in the campaign as one MGP member, who is the block president of the Siolim constituency, is seen avidly campaigning by his side. “We are angry with the BJP, because they are (about) RSS and communalism. Our party is secular and the Congress is also secular. The BJP is not a secular party, it is a communal party,” he exclaims.
The Congress will work on bringing about sustainable mining, Chodankar tells BusinessLine. “The BJP is responsible for the closure of mines...The message is very loud and clear that they don’t want to restart the mines because they want to auction it to Adani…,” he trails off. Is this an allegation or does he know for a fact? “Everyone knows about it…”
Word-to-word publicity
Chodankar says that his campaign is bolstered by word-to-word publicity, and that people are “fed up with the sitting MP for doing nothing”, when asked about his chances against Naik. Does he feel there would be a sympathy wave due to the demise of former CM Manohar Parrikar? “Sympathy for what?... There is no Modi wave, there’s no Parrikar wave, there is no sympathy, because Parrikar for the last one year, he has put our entire thing in a deep freezer. There is no sympathy. They tried to generate sympathy, but it did not work,” he says.
The campaign continues in all gusto, though the planned visits slip behind the schedule, owing to his propensity to getting whisked away by people. Chodankar has no qualms about hopping on an open jeep now and then, instead of his designated vehicle, unfazed by the summer heat. With the tri-coloured Congress paraphernalia flapping in the wind behind him, a trail of few vehicles follow him in tow as Chodankar and his party members zip past North Goa’s idyllic constituencies, armed with promises to deliver.
For the latest on elections, click: Elections 2019