The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may have just taken on a task that it may find a bit too hot to handle. By engineering defections in the Congress, that will result in by-elections in the constituencies of Mandrem and Shiroda, BJP hoping to increase its numbers in the State Assembly, is now finding itself using all its resources to quell rebellion within the party that if not contained could embarrass it when the votes of the by-election are counted. At the current moment, there can be little confidence in the BJP that it can win both the seats. Its own leaders, senior ones among them – Laxmikant Parsekar and Mahadev Naik – haven’t taken kindly to the fact that the defectors to the BJP were persons who defeated them just 19 months earlier.
Laxmikant Parsekar in Mandrem was the first to raise the banner of revolt. While he remains in the party for now, there is enough evidence in the form of words and actions to indicate that he might even rebel against the BJP and contest the by-elections against the BJP candidate. There has already reportedly been a meeting between the Congress and the former Chief Minister, with an offer of a ticket from the former to the latter. That has led to speculation that Parsekar could be the Congress candidate in Mandrem. It is still far too early to say what Parsekar will do, but he has not concealed the resentment and that itself is bad news for BJP.
There is unrest in Shiroda too. After the defection, a number of local panchayat leaders emerged as potential Congress candidates while there was a stillness in the BJP camp, but the focus has now turned on the former Industries Minister Mahadev Naik who just recently returned from a tour to the United States. One of his first acts on his return was to hold a meeting of his supporters, where a large number turned up, and the call given was to defeat the BJP candidate in the by-election. The possibility of Naik entering the fray in the by-elections is not yet being voiced, but here again, his show of strength will do more harm than good to the party.
Congress that is attempting to consolidate the anti-BJP forces in the two constituencies may believe that it stands a better chance at wresting back the two constituencies where its MLAs betrayed the party by approaching the disgruntled former BJP MLAs. While that may be politically expeditious for them, it will not end the evil of defection in the system, as it would be importing candidates into the party who do not espouse the party policies and values. The party has to offer the voters of Mandrem and Shiroda candidates who are beyond reproach, who do not have a political past and who will reach out to the people with a clean slate.
Congress also has to learn from the experience of two past by-elections. In Cortalim in 2012, the Congress candidate withdrew his nomination giving the BJP candidate an unopposed entry into the Assembly. The party has still not recovered in there. In Panjim in 2018, the candidate the party had been grooming joined an ally of the BJP, forcing Congress to scour within its own ranks for a replacement candidate with just days to go to the nomination. It has to choose its candidates wisely and it still has the time to do so, as the by-elections are yet to be announced.
This will also be an opportunity for the people of the two constituencies to tell the politicians what they think of defections and those who change parties. For that to happen, the political parties should field candidates who give the voters such a choice. It is up to the Congress to show the way.
