Old not gold in South Goa
Just before the Ides of March in 2012, Goa witnessed a mass surrender of political surnames at the altar of the ballot. The Alemaos and the Naiks with the Rane’s barely escaping the ignominy.
A little after the Ides of March in 2014, on May 17 to be precise when the Lok Sabha elections will be announced, there is likely to be another surrender of myriad myths and with it will fall the stock of some left over heavyweights of the Congress like the Sardinha’s and the Alemao’s yet again.
While a clear mood of disappointment, justified if you are a Xaxtikar who had wanted dividends for your crucial vote for the BJP in 2012, permeates through the South, there is an unequivocal surge of edginess and frustration at the old war horses wanting to battle either on their own (Churchill Alemao) or through their proxies (Shalom Sardinha).
The Congress yet hasn’t fathomed what a sell by date product does to the mood of the housewife. They should actually do a dipstick test by asking their significant other halves about what discovering a stale product picked from the super market does. The anger turns to the salesman. In South Goa, Churchill and Sardinha are salesmen of their own products. Alemao obviously not marketing the Trinamul Congress, and Junior Sardinha is marketing his family. In effect they are selling themselves and that too in a buyers’ market when there are alternatives, the biggest one being the official Congress nominee Reginaldo Lourenco. Here we have a rare case in Goas Congress politics where the official deal is the real deal and the copies are stale. In the entire South Goa sweep, Murmugao with its vast homogenous and cosmopolitan and a massive migrant mix, is the only pocket which might buck local anti-incumbency.
Meanwhile Salcete isn’t BJP’s only worry. The bigger worry is votes that always went to the BJP like that of the tribals. Tribal leader Govind Gawde, will draw the hard core tribal vote which always went to the BJP, especially in the Canacona segment
For the BJP therefore, South Goa is becoming very much a straight fight, notwithstanding Churchill Alemao and Shalom Sardinhas presence. The BJP however banks on the Mickky mix, but at the same time it is taking no chances with Parrikar working directly in the area with his own party booth workers. Mickky Pachechos backing of Manohar Parrikar might alter some equations, but with Pachecos party man Goa Vikas party MLA Caitu Silva’s utterances against the Church, there seems to be a reverse consolidation against him and the BJP . If this intensifies, then Pacheco will lose goodwill and ground support, adding to the list of heavy weight fall guys.
This is what the BJP did not want, an effective two horse race. It has become one partly due to the running out of patience with Parrikar’s governance but above all anger at the re emergence of jaded and non performing Congressmen like Churchill and Sardinha who tried to queer the pitch for an anti Parrikar revival in South Goa. Even if, by an superb and effective booth management and leads in Savordem and Curchorem as the BJP hopes, the party pulls off a near miracle, the damage in South Goa will take a long time to repair. But the damage that will be done to political families who ruled South Goa at most points of time will be permanent.
The maturity of the Goan voter has been on display in this campaign. The outpouring of letters and articles to this newspaper have been against the Congress turncoats more than the BJP. these are representative voices and earmark a trend.
Irrespective of what the results for South Goa, it’s clear that “the old order changeth”
