Rakhi Prabhudesai Naik of Shiv Sena and activist-cum-politician Aishwarya Salgaonkar have focussed their campaign for Lok Sabha elections in Goa on burning issues like the stalled mining activity and lack of employment in the coastal state.
Prabhudesai Naik and Salgaonkar, who is contesting as Independent, are in the fray from South Goa and North Goa constituencies, respectively.
 
Prabhudesai Naik, 34, has been the face of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party in Goa since the last two years, taking up various issues against the BJP-led government in the state.
Her opponents are BJP MP Narendra Sawaikar, Francis Sardinha of Congress and Elvis Gomes of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Salgaonkar had left the Congress after a bitter fallout with Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee president Pratima Coutinho. She had sat on fast seeking intervention of Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
She is squaring off against Congress' Girish Chodankar, sitting BJP MP Shripad Naik and AAP leader Pradeep Padgaonkar.
Prabhudesai Naik clarifies that she was not seeking votes on the basis of her gender.
"In my personal view, women should contest and get elected in the general category rather than waiting for reservation. I believe that we can compete with men and win," she said.
Prabhudesai Naik was in the NCP before she joined the Sena.