From Saturday evening, till the polling booths open on Monday morning, the campaign will not be on the streets. The day and a half of quiet is a time period given to the voters to enable them to sift through the various promises made by the candidates and arrive at the decision of who they are going to vote. For the voters, this is a crucial few hours during which they will have to decide just who they want representing them in the Legislative Assembly and which party they want to form the government. These are absolutely vital decisions that have to be taken by weighing all the aspects, especially since this election will bring in not just a new government but will also have to provide solutions to the long list of issues that are pending.
As voters step out to cast their ballot on February 14, they will have to bear in mind that they will be voting, not just for a new government that will direct the fortunes of the State for the next five years, but for one whose programmes will be beneficial to the land and the people. At this point, nothing other than Goa matters and so the State needs a government that has a long-term perspective of what is required and not one that looks at merely the short-term gains. The goal cannot be 2027 when the next election will be held, but go beyond that by a number of years. It has to be a government that will bring gainful employment to the youth and to the future generations, while always protecting the land, the environment and the Goan identity. This cannot be achieved without a long-term vision from the polity and the people.
Here are a few questions that voters can mull over the weekend as they arrive at their decisions on who to cast their vote for on Monday. Are we as Goans, who fought to preserve the unique identity of the land and the people, proud of what Goa is today? If not, how can this be changed and who can do it? Does the candidate in your constituency have a proper vision for the local development and for the State as an entire entity? Is the candidate likely to be responsive to the voters and to the situations that may arise during the term? Will the candidate remain loyal to the party symbol on which he is contesting the polls? Can the candidate be trusted to do the best for the State and for the Goans? Do the parties in the fray have the will to deliver on what they are promising?
This is going to be a weekend during which the people will be forced to do a good bit of thinking about the future of the State. The election is an opportunity to make the right choices for the State and bring to the Legislative Assembly the right set of persons who will decide the future of Goa. Five years from now the scenario could be so different. It could even be too late. Goa needs persons with a vision, with a love for the State, with secular credentials, to occupy the Legislative Assembly. This is what the voters must look for in their candidates as they take that important decision of who they are going to vote for on February 14. The land and the people need a government that will rise above all agendas to give Goa what it deserves – a future that is worthy of the sacrifices that the generations that came before have made for the land.
