Regionalism has become a political buzzword in Goa’s politics with one MLA Vijai Sardesai giving an open call for the formation of a Regional Party and two other MLAs sharing the same platform where this call was made, Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco of the Congress and Independent Bicholim MLA Naresh Sawal.
However, with a little over a year before the 2017 elections are upon us, it is important to take stock of the people’s perspective of the present government and the kind of alternatives they seek. These alternatives at this stage may not have concretised into a formal call or desire to have a formal Regional Party which would be the AAP version of a new independent political force with fresh newcomers. But there is little or no doubt that the groundswell of discontent against the BJP is much more than the discontent against the Digambar Kamat-led Congress at the same point in their tenure. Therefore at this point of time, the man on the street, is hoping for a reversal of the mandate to such an extent that the BJP does not get a majority to form the next government in Goa. This does not – and this is very important – translate into a belief that the people of Goa have made up their minds that the alternate to this reversal of BJP’s tally would be a new born Regional party with fresh faces and not dyed in the wool hardnosed politicians.
The concept of regionalism though stems from the very desire for Goa to have a political party which represents the wishes of the polity to have governance which is not determined and controlled by a High command situated in Delhi . This also stems from the need for governments to be able to take decisions the good of the people quickly without getting bogged down by national interests. However if the Aam Admi Party is the model and the inspiration for a Regional party in Goa, then the happenings in Delhi after the AAP government was formed for the second time, give us a clear indication that that AAP model is not a sure shot winner. The imminent danger of national parties bullying a state ruled by an independently party is the elephant in the room whether one recognises it or not.
It is therefore important that politicians and people who seek change should not get boxed into the form of such a party and focus on the substance of political change Goa needs. And the substance is the following a) Have the power to preserve and protect Goa’s basic identity by ensuring that there is greater control over land and resources b) As a reiteration of the above, ensure that the gaunkari and comunidade systems which exist only on paper are practiced and instruments that protect the rights of comunidades respected c) The battle against corruption is not just a fake clarion call, but a visible way of government functioning d) While investments and jobs and growth are vital and should be a followed policy, outside wealth should not be allowed to enter Goa at the cost of degrading Goa’s environment and plundering our resources d) Not only profess but display adequately on each day that the new government rules, that communal amity, harmony and absence of discrimination on communal and caste grounds, will prevail at all costs, without a single decision or act which makes the people of Goa think otherwise.
It is not complicated. But it is not simple either. Whether this happens through a completely new political creation or through coalition of existing forces or though a new coalition of new forces and credible elements in the existing forces, time will tell. But there is no time to deviate from the four cardinal principles that any new combination needs, if it has to come to power. Herald speaks for the people of Goa when it states that this BJP government has not displayed the four cardinal principles in the three years of its rule. It can barely hope for a shot at power only if it miraculously functions according to the four principals. To that it needs to do the mother of impossible U- turns which simply, looks impossible.
