Mickky’s mood crucial in Salcete
He is a man who made the bandana and gold chains dangling through unbuttoned shirts, jump out of wild west movies into the political dress code of Goa. But his disdain for the conventional did not end with his clothes. He always loved fancy cars and racy bikes and a life on the fast lane. And yet Mickky Pacheco went on winning elections and commanding a mass base which now appears stronger than the self appointed strongman of the Sough Goa coastal belt Churchill Alemao. Alemao once again forces himself upon the people of Goa, riding the Trinamool Congress bandwagon, a party with no unit or base in Goa, clutching at straws of the mass support he once had, and finds the straws crumbling though his beefy hands.
On the other hand, Pacheco lives in the here and the now. Many raids and police inquisitions later, Pachecho still endears and does what Alemao did in his good old days. He can get fifty buses for a rally with a whistle, organise a dharna or a movement and in an age of caste and community vote banks, the Pacheco vote bank, doesn’t seem to be going bust. Not by a long shot. And that is why, in every election, Mickky’s mood, is a crucial barometer of the larger electoral arithmetic in many parts of Salcete.
For the record his Goa Vikas Pary has “pledged” support to the ruling Parrikar government, but this counts for nothing. It is reasonably clear, that Pacheco will take a final call nearer to the elections and knowing him, a complete reversal of decisions taken last week will be the rule rather than the exception.
In the two years of his term, the Chief Minister has played a fine balancing act with all the independents in Salcete who have backed his government much to the chagrin of own MLA’s. His frequent motorcycle rides on GVP MLA Caitu Silva’s bike, his fortnightly visits to Navelim, Avertano Furtado’s constituency, announcing programmes and schemes have paid dividends. He has also personally helped them. When Benaulim MLA Caitu Silva initially faced a disqualification case backed by the Alemaos, on the ground of his alleged Portuguese nationality, Parrikar supported him in various ways which Caitu has been grateful for.
Notwithstanding this, Mickky Pacheco still remains the master of Caitu’s fortune. It’s clear to Pacheco, that emotion is the biggest issue in South Goa and the Chief Minister’s backing of the Mopa airport the biggest issue that fuels emotion. The strong anti Mopa South Goa can unite on this alone in these elections if this angst is tapped. while Reginaldo has made it the leitmotif of his campaign, he needs a Mickky to give this emotion voice. There is a fair chance that Pacheco might give a call to rally people from South Goa for a pre election meeting against Mopa and give an open call to all South Goa MLAs to spell out their stand on the issue forcing the independent MLAs to speak out.
This stand will resonate even in Cortalim which has BJP MLA Alina Saldhana, completely rapped in a cabinet whose decision on Mopa is contrary to her late husband Matanhy’s and in Dabolim where Mauvin Godinho is against the Congress.
If Mickky Pacheco manages to polarise this election in south between pro and anti Mopa forces and carry this emotion in the run up to April 12, he could be the ultimate gift horse for the Congress.
Elections are all about nuances and about who is where at what time or more importantly who is not. One person conspicuous by his absence when BJP candidate Narendra Sawaikar went to file his nomination on Monday, was Caitu Silva who had grand plans to be there. According to reliable information, he was sipping lemon soda at that very time, in a resort in Colva in the company of his political party boss.
The wild west version 2014 is here. And it doesn’t go out of fashion.
