October 21, 2026
By Manjunath K. Shresthi
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The scenic state where rivers meet the seas; some of its beaches having golden sand and villas dotting the banks make for a picture perfect holiday destination. Goa is blessed with churches, temples and verdant surroundings of the western ghats. It lies on India’s western coast on the Arabian sea. The tiny state shares land borders with Maharashtra to its north, & Karnataka to its east and south.
There’s an old Konkani saying, “you can give a person rice and fish curry to eat, but you can’t give him brains to eat”. Searching for brains is a difficult task, and not everyone is lucky to find it. Even the one’s with the finest brains, can’t get a firm grip on the state’s politics. The BJP has been in power for the longest time time beginning from 2012 to the current day, and will complete 15 years in power continuously. The Goan assembly has 40 MLAs and two Lok Sabha seats. Goa goes to the assembly polls early next year in 2027, along with four other states.
Each of the assembly constituencies comprises of 25,000-30,000 voters. And the less numbers makes it unique, the elected representatives can keep good relations with all the voters. Each vote counts in the constituency. And if there are more than two candidates, votes are split amongst all contestants and the fragmentation is real. The winning margin gets reduced and the final result will turn to a photo finish. A candidate’s victory is guaranteed only if votes are cast on ideological lines. Post the results if the winner is an independent candidate, his stock rises in exponential limits. Even if the common man votes wisely, the same wisdom can’t be expected from the winner. Carrots are dangled before the horse, and the winning horse will decide the final course.
The voters have a wide choice to choose from the political parties in the fray. There’s the: BJP, Congress, MGP, GFP, AAP and a host of other local parties. On which local issue will the Goans cast their vote in the upcoming assembly elections?
Predictions about political alliances are always difficult to make and are fraught with risks. Have the local leaders worked their math with other political parties? Some of the politically active players hinted that post Ganesh Chaturthi, they would decide their future course. Now even Dussehra is coming to an end, and Diwali will come knocking within the next fortnight. Will the alliance suspense be cleared before the festival of lights ? Will there be clarity about their alliances or will the wait get longer till Christmas?
