The victory of the BJP in the Panjim by-elections is more of de ja vu rather than the creation of history or anything even remotely as grand as that. Sidharth Kuncalienker deserves congratulations and Surendra Furtado our commiserations, but that done, let’s move on.
No one had ever imagined that the BJP would be defeated in Panjim, yet, inspite of a beginning of a potential mood swing against it. A Chief Minister who has held a constituency for 20 years and is sent to Delhi, isn’t expected to concede ground so dramatically. Thus this expected win is a continuation vote. However for the BJP to tout it as an affirmation of Parrikar’s popularity is a back handed admission that it was seeking that affirmation.
While the margin of victory of 5368 votes now, as against a margin of 6068 votes in 2012, is marginally less, it’s even stevens taking into account the reduced percentage of voting. Actually speaking, this margin should have been much more, since the Defence Minister virtually ran the country’s Defence establishment from Panjim for the last fortnight, to ensure that his handpicked personal assistant had no unforseen hiccups. And yet Mr Furtado won three of the 30 booths, two more than what the Congress candidate against Mr Parrikar in 2012, Yatin Parekh did. This of course is little consolation for a party which hardly exists. Furtado’s lead in booth numbers 26 and 27 (TB Cunha Higher Secondary school, second booth) and Goa College of Home Science Campal, are his personal votes and not the party’s.
Moving on, Kuncalienker, is hardly expected to set the assembly on fire. And Chief Minister Parsekar isn’t going to have long sessions either. If the MLA needs to deliver Panjim, he can do it only through humility and cooperation. As Mr Parrikar’s assistant, humility is not a virtue he would have imbibed in generous proportions and his track record doesn’t show him blazing the political race track on a humility vehicle either. And thus we have a problem. Secondly, he will deal with a Mayor who takes defeat very bitterly. But differences have to be forgotten, for the BJP MLA’s sake. He must understand that in Panjim’s success lies his success and to do that he needs to take the CCP along, and to do that he needs Surendra Furtado’s support.
Of course hardliners in the BJP advocate making a bid to change the Mayor, once Furtado’s term gets over or though the toppling route, but the numbers game doesn’t out rightly favour the BJP. The BJP and the Babush Monseratte affiliated group have 14 MLAs each in a 30 member Corporation with Mr and Mrs Furtado holding the reins that could prop up any of the combinations. Short of Monseratte and the BJP coming together, the Furtados will always be in the House and in the scheme of things.
Meanwhile, Kuncalienker has several albatrosses around his neck. He has to finish many of his master’s unfulfilled promises. He is like the long standing housekeeper who has to face a long line of his master’s creditors when he is away. The people of Panjim will be at the new MLA’s door asking him to pay back the investment they made in electing his master again and again, if Panjim’s needs of decongestion, traffic management and the rapidly increasing dug roads are not met.
He has a chance to create a revolution in Panjim by giving the CCP real autonomy which includes financial autonomy and allow it to implement his broad vision, without he getting into projects and micro managing it. For instance why should the elected state government decide if GSIDC should be given all construction work and not the PWD in Panjim? Why should the government have control over contractors, tenders and contracts, if not to control the inflow and outflow of funds, both officially and otherwise.
Sidharth Kuncalienker has won the Panjim by election. But his campaign starts only now. And real victory will be his if he decides to stop thinking and behaving as Manohar Parrikar’s assistant and start being his own master for the betterment of Panjim.
