ZP polls: Cong weighs options for non-BJP front

With less than a month remaining for the upcoming Zilla Panchayat elections—and the BJP going all out to retain control of the South Goa Zilla Panchayat—the spotlight has shifted back to the Congress and other opposition parties.

- GUILHERME ALMEIDA

A series of contentious questions are now front and centre: How will the non-BJP parties attempt to halt the BJP’s momentum in the polls? Can the Congress successfully bring regional outfits such as the Goa Forward Party and the Revolutionary Goans Party on board through an alliance or seat-sharing arrangement to challenge the BJP? And how will these parties position themselves in Salcete, where nine of the 25 seats are up for grabs?

The Congress finds itself at the centre of these deliberations, especially as it weighs how to accommodate the interests of the Goa Forward Party and the Revolutionary Goans Party before formalising any alliance. The question is particularly significant because the Congress and these two regional parties share portions of the non-BJP vote base.

Against this backdrop, the three parties are expected to return to the negotiating table in the coming week to discuss seat-sharing arrangements, with the aim of preserving the non-BJP vote and preventing fragmentation.