FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2024
How else does one explain the long list of resignations of the Members of the Legislative Assembly?
During the past weeks MLAs have not just been quitting their membership of the Legislative Assembly, but also that of their parties and then immediately joining other political dispensations. The total number of MLAs that have resigned is 15 out of 40, which works out to 37.5 per cent of the Assembly strength bringing down the effective strength of the Assembly to 25. One more MLA is expected to resign on Monday, which will take the percentage of those quitting to 40. In percentage terms this is surely unparalleled and has never occurred in any State in India prior to this. Goa, therefore, sets yet another record in the political arena of the country, and like so many before this it is not a pleasant one to hold. Essentially, there is nothing to brag about this.
Here is a list of MLAs who have resigned from the Assembly and the party: from the BJP are Alina Saldanha, Carlos Almeida, Pravin Zantye, Michael Lobo, Wilfred D’Sa, Isidore Fernandes and Deepak Pauskar; from the Congress are Luizinho Faleiro, Ravi Naik and Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco; all three Independents Rohan Khaunte, Prasad Gaonkar and Govind Gaude; and from Goa Forward Party were Jayesh Salgaonkar and Vinod Paliencar. Lone Nationalist Congress Party MLA Churchill Alemao did not quit the Assembly but resigned from the party and merged the NCP’s legislature wing with that of the Goa Trinamul Congress.
The resignations give rise to various questions. Were these MLAs so constrained in the parties they represented for the past five years that they could not perform to their best and so had to get out? For that matter, some of them had already crossed the floor during the term, being unhappy with the party on whose ticket they were elected. The inference, therefore, is that they have not been comfortable in either party, or in some instances it was the party that was not comfortable with them and hence denied them tickets for the February 14 election. Some of the resignations came following the denial of tickets for the elections.
Switching loyalties just weeks before an election exposes the pressures on the MLAs and their ambitions to win again whatever the cost. Curiously, almost all parties have suffered from resignations and almost all have also gained by it, indicating that those in the political establishment are themselves unsure of how the electorate will vote this election. It has not been just one party that has gained from the party hopping MLAs, the two major parties and the two new entrants have roped in MLAs from across the board. To the politicians, greener pastures appear to be visible in all parties, this is how the rush to every dispensation can be interpreted.
This shifting of allegiances creates a problem of credibility in the politicians and the parties. Both are at fault, as parties have given tickets to individuals who have joined them just days before, ignoring the claims of the party workers who have not deserted them. When this happens, there can be no guarantee that once elected they will not jump again. Parties are getting their candidates to swear affidavits and take oath at places of religious worship that they will not defect once elected. This is a sad state of affairs as it indicates that the party has no trust in its candidates and cannot guarantee that they will not get swayed. This is the level to which politics in Goa has plummeted.
