But the act turned out to be hardly shocking. There had been speculation of such a move for weeks before it happened, and it was only the timing that took everybody by surprise as it came just days before the monsoon session of the Legislative Assembly. Defections has been a bane in Goa, and between March and July last year, 12 MLAs broke away from the parties on whose tickets they had been elected and joined the BJP. The defections were arranged in such a manner that the MLAs who switched sides would technically escape the anti-defection law as they were two-thirds of the original party’s strength in the legislature.
As much as Goa has got used to defections of its MLAs, especially in the past decades, this one sent politics in Goa down the pit even further. Defection is an act that undermines all democratic principles and is complete disrespect to the voters, as there is no ideological reasoning for changing sides. While the reason bandied by the defecting MLA is development of the constituency, everybody knows that it is the personal development that the MLAs have in mind. The ministerial berths and chairmanships that are distributed to them post the change of sides, are evidence of this. They gain, whether the constituency gains is debatable, and the State definitely does not.
In this case, the defections gave the Bharatiya Janata Party a massive majority in the State, and allowed it to drop the crutches of the regional parties and some independent MLAs that had been propping it up since the elections of 2017. While the defections from the Congress and entry into the BJP may have strengthened the government in numerical terms, it has definitely not strengthened governance in the State that leaves much to be desired. The past 12 months since the defections have not given Goa any evidence that this is a strong government that is prepared to take decisions beneficial to the State and its people, even if they not be popular. Instead, the government has spent much time dealing with issues that could best have been avoided.
An entire year after the defections, there have been no gains – real or perceived – for Goa that can be enumerated. Governance in the State has not risen to any new heights of success, in fact the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has left much to be desired, after the initial success of keeping Goa a green zone. Sadly, sections of the people do not see defection as a betrayal by the MLAs and have accepted the defections, which gives the politicians the courage to change sides, aware that they will not be spurned by a segement of the electorate. It therefore, calls for an entirely new brand of politics in the State, for which Goa would need a new set of players in the political arena. It would need men and women who keep party ideology and the future of Goa first, and personal growth last in all of their dealings.
This is not too much to ask, all it requires is a commitment of different kind from a set of persons who are willing to risk entering the political ring, to take on the established political forces and change the way Goa has been governed. If there exists such a group of people, then the time to take the first step towards a political role would be now. It is not just a change in governance that is required, but the future of the Goa that we know and love that is at stake. Safeguarding that needs a entire new level of commitment. Is there anybody out there who remain loyal to the party and the State?
