MAJORITY: Which party will get adequate seats to form the government will depend on the 12 defectors, ten from the Congress and two from the MGP. The performance of the defectors will depend on the stand taken by important parish priests with respect to minority community constituencies.

By Rajan Narayan

With the infighting both within the Congress and the BJP the fight for tickets to contest the 2022 assembly poll is intensifying. The new player is the NCP which is willing to take the ten congress MLAs and two MGP MLAs who defected to the BJP. Both the BJP and the Congress are claiming that they will chose new faces, suggesting that senior leaders may have to retire.

WITH the 2022 Assembly elections approaching very fast, both sitting MLAs and aspiring MLAs are hunting for tickets. The ticket not for travelling to Mumbai by air or the Belgavi by bus. But the ticket which can make them a crorepati in the shortest possible time. Unfortunately for a defectors the parish priest are allegedly demanding an assurance that they will not defect again. This is similar to the covid-19 certificate demanded for entry into Goa and exit from Goa. When I see young people seeking advice on what is the best career to choose in covid-19 times, I am inclined to tell them to opt for a career in politics. A ticket in political language is the permission given by a political party to use its symbol and contest the election on behalf of the party. There are off course some candidate who do not need a ticket to contest as they have bought the whole bus.

HIGH COMMAND NODE

IN India, it is the party High Command that decides who will get the ticket to represent the party in the assembly elections. Those who aspire for the party ticket, whether they are existing senior members of the party or new comers , are both worried. Senior BJP leaders for instance like Laxmikant Parsekar, Vinay Tendulkar and even veteran BJP leader, Shripad Naik, have already staked their claim, not only to contest on the BJP ticket but for the chief minister’s post. Unfortunately for them, the party High Command has made it clear that it will choose the candidates and individuals cannot stake a claim to the party tickets without the permission of the party high command. It is yet to be seen whether senior leaders of the BJP will accept the announcement made by the BJP president JP Nadda, that the party will contest the elections with Pramod Sawant, continuing to be the choice for the chief minister’s post. Forget about senior BJP leaders, even the group of ten congress MLAs who defected and saved the BJP government may not accept the decision. Babush Monserrate who saved the BJP several times is aspiring to the chief ministers post. Babush is tired of being the king maker all the time and wants to become the king himself.

LUIZINHO V/S DIGAMBAR

IN the case of the Congress party, which is the principle opposition in the state, war has broken out. There was a literal fist fight between supporters of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President, Girish Chodankar, and those who wanted him to be replaced. The main fight is between the three former chief ministers, Luizinho Falerio, Digambar Kamat and Francisco Saldinha. They have all staked their claim for a ticket in the hope that they will be chosen for the chief minister’s post, if the party gets the majority. In 2017 because of the infighting despite being the largest single group, the Congress loss the kodel to the BJP.
Unfortunately, this time the contest is not going to be just between the BJP and the Congress. The most critical factor could be what happens to the 12 MLAs who defected from the congress and the MGP to the BJP. The BJP has to decide if it is going to give them a tickets to contest the election. The congress has to decide whether it will take back the ten congress defectors. The GPCC chief, Girish Chodankar, has made it clear that there will be no ghar wapasi for the defectors.

multiple contests

Besides the congress and the BJP, the Aam Adami party is very keen on capturing Goa. Though the Aam Adami party has a huge majority in the New Delhi Assembly, it has no power. This is because New Delhi being the country’s capital, it is still being treated like an Union territory. Unlike in the states, in a Union Territory, it is the Lt. Governor who is the boss. In the case of Delhi to make sure there is no room for any doubt, the BJP has made it official by passing a bill in parliament that all decisions are taken by the Kejriwal government have to be approved by Anil Baijal who is the Lt Governor. Who objected to the AAP proposal for door to door distribution of rations on the grounds that it will lead to spread of covid-19. The other complication is that parts of Delhi come under the Delhi Development authority and the Delhi Municipality. Which is why Arvind Kejriwal, is claiming that he had no role to play in the demolition of the holy Shepard Church in Delhi, which was timed to coincide with his visit to Goa. It had the intended affect as many Goan Catholics questioned why Kejriwal, who is promising free power, could not protect the Delhi Church from demolition. Ironically, Churchil Alemao went to Delhi and met the Parish priest and has promised all help to rebuild the church. The AAP has a lot of support with the middle class but does not have a mass base as it does in Delhi. Whereas, in Delhi AAP controls all the slum colonies and the migrant vote banks, in Goa these are the monopoly of the Babush Monserrate, Digambar Kamat, Luzinho Falerio, Mauvin Gudinho and Vishwajit Rane. In the case of Vishwajit Rane, during his tenures as Health Minister of Goa, he has given hundreds of governments jobs to members of his constituency mostly in the Goa Medical College and Health services. But the flooding of Sattari has been a set back as he is being blamed for not clearing the drainage.

OTHER ASPIRANTS

Besides the BJP, Congress and AAP you have many others in the fray. The Goa Forward is hoping it will go further forward. It won’t be a case of fatle fude (front back) this time according to Vijai Sardesai. There is the Goencho Avaaz, which is leading the agitation against the double tracking on the South Western Railways, the expansion of the National Highway and the setting up of a transmitter in Mollem. It is planning to register itself as a party and its leader Captain Viriato Fernandes, has already filed his nomination from Dabolim. This will be a tough fight because he will be taking on Mauvin Gudhinho who controls the huge Fukatnagar migrant vote bank. There is also the mysterious Goa Revolution party led by a Manohar Parob. Nobody knows his origins.
Watching from the lines, watching the developments is the Eagle. In the context of the forthcoming elections the Eagle in Goa is the Nationalist Congress President, Sharad Pawar. I understand that the ten rebel congress MLAs who defected to the BJP have offered to join the NCP. The two MGP MLAs who merged with the BJP may have no choice but to join Pawar as the MGP will not give them the ticket. ON the contrary the MGP may choose to join the grand alliance against the BJP with the NCP. Since Kejriwal, attended the meeting of national leaders, the Rashtriya Manch, convened by Pawar in Delhi he may also be willing to be the part of the alliance.
It is a case of Ringa Ringa Roses. And only time will decide who will get the tickets, and win the election or drop dead.