Panaji: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has set a target of winning more than 27 seats in the elections to the 40-member Goa assembly due in 2027, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said. Addressing the party workers in state capital Panaji on Wednesday, Sawant also said there is no doubt that the BJP will retain power at the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the next general elections (in 2029).
Due to the PM's vision, BJP's tally will rise to more than 300 in the next Lok Sabha elections, the chief minister said. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre won 293 seats in the last year's elections to the 543-member Lok Sabha, with the BJP bagging 240 seats. In the 2022 Goa assembly polls, the BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 20 seats, just one shy of the halfway mark, and enlisted the support of regional outfit MGP and three Independent MLAs to form its government for a third consecutive term in the coastal state. "We have to ensure that in 2027, we have more than 27 assembly seats in Goa," Sawant said, adding the party's vote share should increase from the current 33.36 per cent to 52 per cent. The senior BJP leader urged the party cadres to reach out to voters and inform them about various schemes of the Centre and the state government. "We will have to highlight the achievements of the central and the state government on the fronts of the development of human resource and infrastructure," he said.
The CM said he is optimistic that the BJP will win more than 27 seats in Goa with the dedicated efforts of its cadre. Speaking to reporters after the event, BJP Goa president Damodar Naik said there is a need to bring in discipline among the party's legislators. "When we formed the government in 2001, there was discipline in the party. Now, after winning three-four elections in a row, there is a little lack of discipline," he claimed. The MLAs should listen to the voice of the people, Naik added.