Goa Congress march draws call for united Opposition, action on defections

The Congress's "Goy Rakhonn Yatra" (Save Goa March) rolled through Aldona on Saturday, drawing a consistent demand from residents: the Opposition must put aside its differences and present a united front against the BJP.

"Everyone has to be united. All the Opposition parties need to set aside [differences] ... to fight against the BJP and save Goa," said Arthur D'Mello, a resident of Moira in North Goa's Bardez taluka.

The 27-day march began on Wednesday and is set to cover all 40 Assembly constituencies. The Congress has framed the yatra as a campaign against the BJP's "misrule", with land conversion, unemployment and environmental degradation emerging as recurring themes.

A divided Opposition

The call for unity comes amid a fragmented Opposition landscape. Earlier this month, the Goa Forward Party and the Aam Aadmi Party announced an alliance under the "Goa First" banner, describing it as "non-BJP, non-Congress" while keeping the door open to other like-minded parties. The Congress, for its part, has announced an "in-principle understanding" with the Revolutionary Goans Party to contest the elections together.

For Eusebio D'sa, 68, of Moira, a split Opposition is far from ideal. "There is a lot of anti-incumbency. Unemployment and land conversions are the biggest issues in Goa. Goans are selling their land to outsiders because they have no other option. Vast tracts of land are being indiscriminately converted under controversial pieces of legislation," he said.

The BJP emerged as the single-largest party in the 2022 Assembly elections with 20 of 40 seats. The Congress won 11, the GFP one and the AAP two. Eight Congress MLAs later joined the BJP in September 2022, leaving the party with three legislators.

Defection and accountability

For voters in Aldona, the concern extends beyond numbers to the mandate they believe they hand their representatives. "The elected representatives have to be accountable. This defection of legislators from one party to its rival has to stop. It is stealing the mandate from the people. It is not fair," said Christopher Mendez, 66.

D'Mello argued the anti-defection law should go further. "If an MLA defects, their membership of the Assembly should be cancelled. The anti-defection law has to ensure that the legislators do not switch sides overnight. They are betraying the people."

Mendez said the state was due for a change. "People have given the BJP almost three terms and we haven't seen much of a difference in governance. The state's ecology is being destroyed... hills are being cut. We want to give a chance to the party which will protect Goa," he said.

Land and Section 39A

Aldona Congress MLA Carlos Ferreira framed the election as a contest over Goa's land and environment. "What we have witnessed in the last 15 years of BJP rule... is destroying Goa. This is something that has touched the heart of every Goan. You (BJP) claim development, but what is happening is the loot and sale of Goa," he said.

At the centre of the Congress campaign is Section 39A of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, which permits changes to land zoning and modifications to the Regional Plan and Outline Development Plans at the government's direction. Critics contend such changes can weaken the state's planning framework and protections for ecologically sensitive areas, and allege they can be swayed by real estate interests and individual demands. The Congress has said it will scrap the provision if voted to power.

"We have a regional plan. But through these piecemeal conversions in the plan... the state's ecology is being destroyed. This destruction has to be stopped," Ferreira said, adding that land had become "a gold mine" in Goa. "Today, Goans cannot afford to buy land in their state, while people from other states are buying villas here. This yatra's purpose is to awaken the people."

As the march moves through the state's 40 constituencies, the Opposition faces a dual task: converting concerns over land, ecology and governance into a campaign, and settling the differences among parties seeking to challenge the BJP in 2027.