When a century plus old grand old party’s Goa unit calls for a first meeting under the leadership of the new GPCC president Shantaram Naik, and ten of the 16 MLAs do not turn up, it does seem like a unit which is coming apart at the seams.
And that becomes even more palpable, when its Curtorim MLA says that after a long Assembly session, some of its MLAs are relaxing a bit before joining the campaign trail for the Panjim and Valpoi assembly elections. Without meaning to be uncharitable and with due respect to a party that actually did the best in the Assembly elections, the work of its MLAs in the last session did not reflect robustness and energy which would lead to positive energy sapping tiredness.
And from four and perhaps five MLAs not voting for the Congress candidate for the Presidential elections, to indications that Velim MLA Filipe Neri Rodrigues has pledged his hand to Goa Forward, the high of March, has been reduced to ashes in August for the Goa Congress.
But there are many indeed who are smarting from the mandate high jack and the manner in which the coalition government was formed. And this anger may never be assuaged. But reality is the only – and hardest and the strongest – reality. The dominance of Goa Forward and its synergy with the BJP in Government has seen a fast pace of decision making and the undoing and course correction of decisions which enraged people. This in no way is an insurance against future decisions that need to be objected to or protested. But let us face this. It is difficult to argue against decisions like not just restoring the tree status but making the coconut the state tree, or amending the tenancy act by bringing cases back to mamlatdars or de-notifying state highways to district roads to allow bars and liquor outlets and bars to function.
There can be a debate or disagreement on the contours of these moves and the fine print may well be cause for conflict, but one must remember that each of these decisions were strong demands made of the previous government and in a sense the reason for the BJP’s numerical defeat in the Assembly elections.
Moreover, the decision to demolish over a 100 completely illegal houses on the communidade of Shirvoi, which no government in the past decided to do, is the first fight back of the state against the loot of the communidades by those within the system.
The Congress, if it does have a strategy, has still got it wrong. The only way the BJP can be tackled is to play their own game of guile. It is here that your need a conjurer, a wily behind the scenes player, who remains under the radar and chips away at the opposition quietly. You need a wily old fox who, far from letting the party’s MLAs leave, will ensure that he reaches well within BJP territory and weakens it from within. Currently these possibilities remain in the realm of fiction. The Congress needs a 24X7x365 cut throat politician who sniffs opposition moves like a bull dog and works in weakening them man by man. The only one who comes even close, Babush Monseratte, has not only pulled the rug from under their feet but is actually with the Goa Forward. This is brute politics and this game can’t even be matched by playing the game of lament or victimisation. It just won’t work.
For a moment, take a look at Ahmed Patel, the quintessential backroom boy who is the ‘bhai’ of manipulative politics. His Rajya Sabha seat was guaranteed from Gujarat till Mr Amit Shah launched a project leading to Congress losing its MLAs to BJP on the eve of the elections, which seriously threatened the return of Ahmed Patel to the Rajya Sabha. He not only weathered the storm but even managed to get a BJP MLA in Gujarat to cross-vote for him. And as he scraped through, his sheer doggedness was evident. If the Congress in Goa had even had an Ahmed Patel in march, the government would have been theirs.
There is another point though. Amidst all the criticisms Patel has faced, mainly from the opposition, he remains a die-hard loyalist, who will do anything for the party. That is an area where most in the Congress will be found wanting- unquestionable loyalty. And you cannot take on the might of the BJP without absolute loyalty.
The Congress has a lot of ground to cover. Not to come to power but at least get a few good men to come to the aid of the party. Men like Ahmed Patel.
