The full cabinet is now in place. There is no vacancy for anybody else as all 12 berths have been filled. It is almost completely a Bharatiya Janata Party government, with the exception of the single MLA of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party who was drafted into the ministry in the second round. This makes it a coalition government but heavily weighing in favour of the BJP, that also has the higher number of seats in the Assembly. There has been no representation given to the three Independents who have supported the government. When the BJP had met the Governor to stake claim to form the government, the party had been accompanied by the MGP and the Independents who handed over letters of support to the Governor. The expectation was that at least one of the berths would have been given to an Independent. That didn’t happen and the only non-BJP Minister is Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar, the MGP MLA who has got lucky every time and managed a cabinet berth.
The delay in filling up the three vacant posts had led to speculation that there could be some surprises in store, but the surprise, when it did come, was not one that was expected. Not only is there no representation to Independents but also to the talukas of Salcete and Pernem. The regional imbalance is quite stark in the cabinet where Ponda taluka with four constituencies has four ministers, while Salcete with eight constituencies and Pernem with two has no Minister. On the other hand, Bardez with seven constituencies has two ministers, Tiswadi with five constituencies has one Minister, Mormugao with four constituencies has one Minister. Along with Pernem and Salcete, Canacona has been left out but its single MLA has been elected the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. This is the first instance in a long time that Salcete, the taluka that sends the largest number of MLAs to the Assembly, has been totally eclipsed from the cabinet.
Dhavalikar’s elevation to the cabinet had been uncertain for two reasons. One being that Ponda had already got three ministers in the first round, and the other being that there was a lot of opposition from among senior BJP ministers to him being drafted into the cabinet. Now, with two political heavyweights and rivals from Ponda in the government, cabinet meetings will perhaps not be dull affairs.
That the party leadership overlooked all this to give Dhavalikar a cabinet berth is an indication of how important the regional party is for the national party’s larger plans. Without the MGP it will be well nigh difficult for the BJP to win both Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 Parliamentary polls. The regional party has a sizeable vote share that it brings along and so can’t be easily ignored. The BJP learnt this the hard way in 2019 when weeks after breaking up with the MGP it lost the South Goa seat by a very small margin to the Congress that had aligned with the MGP for the polls. In an election where every seat won will count, the two seats from Goa cannot be left to chance. Besides, BJP is very aware that with ignoring Salcete in the cabinet, it will not get the numbers from there, so Ponda will have to make up in the count.
The current cabinet is one with lots of experience, with no debutant MLA who has come in by virtue of his support. Of the 12 ministers there is only one new face – Subhash Phaldesai – with all others having held ministerial office at sometime in the past. There is even a former chief minister in Ravi Naik, whereas there are others with years of cabinet experience. With experience and with time on hand, will the new government deliver on what it has promised?
