The move has been calculated, but it will be some time, perhaps till counting day in 2017, whether the calculations were right, or the political math went all wrong.
But before more water flows down the Zuari or Mandovi (as the Chief Minister said, referring to a lot of time had passed and there was no let up in the MGP’s attacks on the BJP), the hard realities of an acrimonious parting of ways, even before alliance talks could culminate, suggests differences that are deeper. And anybody who knows Goa’s politics and honest enough to call it, will know that ideology and stands on issues has very little to do with the MGP’s sudden dislike for Chief Minister Parsekar. Their hands were literally tied as far as key portfolios of PWD and Transport were concerned and a restless BJP cadre, suddenly buoyed with the feeling that a second term is not a distant dream away, but within the realm of possibility, no longer wanted to tag the MGP along.
Moreover with the BBSM and its political arm, the Goa Suraksha Manch, ever willing to give it support and even candidates in some areas, Sudin Dhavalikar suddenly had visions of becoming a king and not kingmaker. The tirade against Chief Minister Parsekar was a combination of the above two factors, when the MGP wanted to go completely for the jugular. For the BJP, there was no option but to drop them since it would ultimately have to face its grassroot workers and cadre, who had clearly parted ways with the MGP a long time ago.
MGP’s choices are those that many right thinking Goans will never support since this polarises Goa in a manner which should never be intended, but we are talking about now two political forces, whose entire politics has been clearly based in narrowing the discourse to this. It works for them that a narrow section of Goa’s population which wanted the right wing or hyper majority religious kind of politics will know where to park their political investments with and if this leads to the core BJP base getting weakened, it serves the objective of BBSM and at the same time gives MGP enough seats to be relevant post the elections.
Let us also not forget that no one is untouchable for the MGP. It has ruled with the Congress on many occasions, including MGP splitting to help Congress stabilise governments as it did in 1994. The Dhavalikars have served under Pratap Singh Rane and Digambar Kamat with comfort. It’s another matter that other parties, now have to decide if its suits them to make the MGP “touchable again”, because broad-based parties cannot afford to surrender to MGP’s demands on language and medium of instruction. But politics makes for strange bedfellows and after all MGP has been a former partner.
While these moves will play out at a much later stage, the BJP needs to seriously in introspect what will emerge from its poll battles with the MGP , especially in the Ponda, Sanguem and Canacona talukas, besides Bicholim and Dabolim, and try and turn this decision making into some sort of an advantage in other areas, like Salcette.
