Mumbai, October 19: With the Assembly elections in several states, just around the corner, the season of opinion polls has now begun. Several think tanks have conducted surveys on the ever-changing popularity of a particular political party in different states. In Goa, the Kautilya opion poll survey has predicted that Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal’s efforts will lead to fruition and that AAP will emerge as the biggest winner in the 2017 Goa elections. The survey said that AAP will win 14 out of 40 seats in the Goa Assembly, with the current ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) finishing up second, with 11 seats in the Assembly. The third biggest party is predicted to be the Indian National Congress (INC), which the survey said is going to win seven seats in the Assembly.
The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) is predicted to win six seats while the rest of the two seats are predicted to go to Independent Candidates. The survey also suggests that the BJP, which is currently winning big in Assembly elections is going out of favour with the people of Goa and its chances of winning the elections in the state are dismal, until the party decides to bring in Manohar Parrikar as the Chief Ministerial candidate in the state. However, that seems unlikely with Parrikar playing a big role in the affairs of the country currently. Although, if the party does decide to bring in Prrikar as the face of BJP in the elections, it might win big, with the credit of the surgical strikes, now in Parrikar’s kitty, especially since he has been promoting the government’s role in carrying out the strikes, in no small measure.
At a press conference last week, Parrikar had hailed the Indian Army for the successful surgical strikes, saying that the current government should be given its due credit for taking the bold step of commissioning the strikes. Meanwhile, Kejriwal has been aggressively building up a case for AAP in the state, with frequently visiting the state himself, meeting with voters on the ground and speaking with them about the issues. AAP does have a strong chance of taking Goa from BJP, as they did in the Delhi Assembly elections. The recent scandals that the AAP has been embroiled in might hamper the party’s image in the state. Nonetheless, AAP has high chances of winning the elections, with Kejriwal’s image as a self-righteous head and Minister still holding sway over the masses. ALSO READ: Goa polls: Congress leaders want alliance with like-minded parties
What might not be so good for AAP’s prospects is Kejriwal’s obsession with opposing everything that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does or says. It is pertinent that AAP rode to victory in the Delhi elections on the agenda of hacking corruption, increasing transparency and ensuring development. Too much political banter might undo all that Kejriwal has done in the past years in Delhi. What is also noteworthy is the number of seats predicted for Congress. The Grand Old Party has note performed well in any Assembly elections since the 2014 General Elections, which are being considered a game changer in Indian politics. However, opinion polls have now suggested that the Congress will emerge as the biggest winner in Punjab Assembly elections too, with Captain Amarinder Singh leading the campaign.