AERIAL VIEW
A fractured mandate means compromises, horse-trading, defections, and so on. We have all seen what happened since 2017. What Goa needs today is a mandate for a single party.
Forget 2017; we saw the number of toppling attempts on the Digambar Kamat government from 2007 to 2012. Despite the toppling bids
Digambar managed to complete his five-year term, but that term was full of compromises as Digambar allowed his alliance partners and Cabinet colleagues whatever they wanted to save his chair.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkrponn
The Goa Congres, which is billed to be the single largest party due to solid anti-incumbency against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, on Thursday indirectly admitted that it is not going to get an absolute majority in the 40-member Goa Legislative Assembly.
The Congress leaders Girish Chodankar, Digambar Kamat, and Michael Lobo said that the party would unite all opposition parties to form the next government and keep the BJP at bay, something which the Congress failed to do in 2017.
The BJP, having just 13 seats, managed to form the government with the support of MGP, Goa Forward, and the three independents – Rohan Khaunte. Govind Gaude and Prasad Gaonkar.
The Congress’ admission that it will take of anti-BJP parties means that Goa would once again see a mix bhaji in Cafe Goan Politics, something which Goa does not want to see once again.
A fractured mandate means compromises, horse-trading, defections, and so on. We have all seen what happened since 2017. What Goa needs today is a mandate for a single party.
Forget 2017; we saw the number of toppling attempts on the Digambar Kamat government from 2007 to 2012. Despite the toppling bids
Digambar managed to complete his five-year term, but that term was full of compromises as Digambar allowed his alliance partners and Cabinet colleagues whatever they wanted to save his chair.
The result was that BJP came back to power with a full majority thanks to the charisma and capability to expose the ruling government’s misdeeds. But once Parrikar left Goa to become the country’s Defense Minister, the people who voted for Parrikr government felt they had made a mistake as they felt BJP did not keep up to the expectations.
So again, in 2017, the people’s mandate for Congress with 17 seats, but BJP stole the order and formed the government.
But as we said, the mix bhaji did not work well; Partikar had to give the plum portfolios to the MGP and Goa Forward MLA, and after his departure, the BJP and government ran like a headless chicken.
Despite Patrikar’s death, BJP continued to lead the government, again due to hard negotiations with alliance partners, who were in no mood to support Dr. Pramod Sawant as chief minister.
While the alliance partners pledged support to Sawant, their arm-twisting tactics continued as they thought Sawant would have to compromise on everything since he did not have the majority. But they were wrong; Sawant is a shrewd politician, and he had some other idea.
Due to this blackmailing or arm-twisting of the GF, MGP, and independents, Sawant decided that enough was enough and started negotiations with unsatisfied Congress leaders.
He engineered defections in Congress, splitting 10 MLA’s and two from MGO, and overnight BJPs tally increased from 15 to 27.
So the moral of the story is that fractured mandate is nothing but compromises and horse-trading as whichever party has money buys the MLAs.
Of course, it is too late to say anything as the fate of candidates and political parties has already been sealed, and the results will be out on March 10.
But if Goa has again given a fractured mandate, the people will have to be blamed and not the politicians. Because cause it is we the people who have chosen them and given them authority to cheat, sell themselves, and people’s mandate for a price.
After all Goa’s favourite breakfast is mix bhaji, isn’t it?
