BJP looks to replace Alina for 2017 poll

PANAJI: Alina Saldanha, the lone woman Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator in Goa, has been vocal against the party on certain issues.
With sharp differences emerging between Saldanha, who holds the environment and forests portfolio, and the BJP over several issues including the Mopa airport and zilla panchayat (ZP) polls, BJP is exploring the possibility of replacing her with a leader from the Ramponkar (traditional fishermen) community for the Cortalim seat in the 2017 assembly elections.
At the BJP state legislative party wing meeting held on Friday, Saldanha clashed with senior BJP leaders for allotting the Sancoale ZP seat to Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), indicating that the relationship between the Cortalim legislator and the top leaders in the party has worsened.
Friday’s episode is a fallout of major differences seen over the last one-and-a-half year between senior BJP leaders and Saldanha. “We are shortlisting a few candidates from the Ramponkar community and BJP may field a new candidate in Cortalim for the 2017 assembly polls,” a BJP senior leader said, adding that sympathy votes last only for the first year. BJP had fielded Alina after the sudden death of her husband, tourism minister Matanhy, forced a repoll of the Cortalim seat.
During the BJP legislative party wing meeting on Friday, a teary-eyed Saldanha told chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar that she “has been humiliated and insulted in the party” which has not taken her into confidence before allotting the Sancoale ZP seat to MGP.
Sancoale is part of the Cortalim constituency represented by Saldanha in the assembly. She also said that there has always been interference in her ministries and she is a “powerless minister”. Replying to Saldanha, Parsekar said that she “does not know politics”. Intervening in the conversation, BJP organizing secretary Satish Dhond told Saldanha that she did not contest the election and BJP got her elected unopposed.
To this, Saldanha retorted, “Who told you to get me elected unopposed? I would have won the seat by contesting the election.”
For over a year now, Saldanha has taken a strong stand on the party’s decision on major issues which include Dabolim airport, special status for Goa, golf course at Tiracol and the buffer zone for mining leases.
Saldanha raised strong objections at a cabinet meeting last year against the decision to get the cabinet’s nod to float the request for qualification (RFQ) for the Greenfield airport at Mopa. Despite Saldanha’s reservations, the cabinet approved the floating of the RFQ.
She had also cornered the BJP by making open statements in the media that her husband, Matanhy, never supported Mopa airport. BJP had claimed that Matanhy Saldanha was in favour of Mopa airport. She also had a confrontation with the government over the special status issue. Reacting to Parsekar’s statement that it is difficult for Goa to get its demand for special status approved by the Centre since it may not fit within the legal framework, Saldanha said that Parsekar had made the statement in ignorance of law and ignorance should not be an excuse.
She also had a confrontation with then chief minister Manohar Parrikar over the buffer zone issue. Parrikar endorsed a 1km buffer zone for forest areas from mining leases, whereas Saldanha endorsed a 2kms buffer zone. “I feel that the buffer zone should be two kilometres for the protection of flora and fauna of the state. We are not the last generation to live on this earth,” she had said.
On the golf course issue, sources said though Parrikar and Parsekar favoured it, the environment minister had reservations over it on environmental issues. A source said that if not for Saldanha, the project would have started by now.