Goa lives in its villages even though the pace of urbanisation is leading to more and more villages resembling a jungle of concrete. But it is in the panchayats where the minutest of decisions concerning the future of each of its inhabitants are taken. If this is taken as a side event that only those who want to grow in politics indulge in, then the people of Goa will have to wash their hands off grassroots democracy.
The time to make democracy count at the grassroots and in the State is now.
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If we choose the right people in our panchayats, we will choose the right people for the Assembly and Lok Sabha
If the will of the people is strong the right people are elected, Goa will be strong. A strong institution of panchayats is the biggest shield people will have against any invasion of Goa’s identity, its land, its customs and traditions, and its way of life. Is there any point in fighting for democracy if we are unable to make sure that our institutions of self-governance, our panchayats, are full of right honest people, men, and women who live among us as representatives of each ward and village?
From political to people: Though panchayat polls will not be fought on party lines, they will have the stamp of politics. It’s up to you to make it about people
The stamp of politics will always be there. Parties and their MLAs will see the panchayat elections, not necessarily to strengthen grassroots politics but to take control of the panchayats so that the local bodies can be extensions of the campaign teams in the next elections.
That is why the panchayat elections, as much as any other election but even more so, have to be about institutional democracy where citizens are all important. Democracy can only be respected if people do not sit on the fence and shape the institutions that they seek to govern and protect them.
In the name of Goa and Goans, some B team parties will attempt to split votes in the panchayat elections also. Beware of them
If this has to be about people’s elections and choosing the best person for your village ward and then for your village, then, as simple Goans who want to have a stake in the destiny of the future of Goa, do not allow a repeat of the recent Assembly elections. What happened in these elections is clear. In the name of Goan interests, Goans all over were sold a dream, and based on their contributions, one party managed to split votes against the ruling party. So, one party ended up with a majority mandate but many people are asking, did one have an election that was a true reflection of the will of the people?
Don’t allow poli-tricks to happen in the panchayat elections
Political forces will look at poli-tricking in every election. It is the people who can stop these ‘poli-tricks’ and make it all about people, people, and people.
If one doesn’t do that these will happen: Unfair permissions for mega projects, NOCs for building roads through forested areas, depletion of water resources due to borewells drying up, construction debris in the fields, sewage disposal in the lakes, and everything that leads to the degradation of the village life and identity and increased sufferings of locals.
The possible postponement of the elections is unfair. It will deny people access to grassroots democracy even as the Apex Court has said that elections cannot be postponed. This likely suspension of local self-government should also be called out by the people when they vote.
