For the record, if at all Goa manages to abolish political slavery permanently from the state, then due credit must go to the voters of the Benaulim constituency for leading the way. In some inconsequential Zilla Parishad election, the voters of this constituency seem to have changed their thinking and for the first time chose to vote like a master. A far change from the usual routine of falling prey to the same old gimmicks politicians use to manipulate the voters and then force them to stay as their personal slaves or slaves of the system for the next five years. Of course the challenge now remains as to how the people of the constituency set the agenda and compel their representative to work for the collective demands of the constituency. That said, the scope of this zilla parishad is limited, compared to the legislative assembly members, but at least a start is being made to eliminate political slavery.
Like it or not, political slavery is deep rooted in Goa, the fact that we elect the same old at a stretch for decades proves that the elected have managed to project an impression of indispensability making us believe that only they can solve our personal and community problems, never mind if they are the ones responsible for creating them in the first place. Add to that the Government processes are designed in such a cunning manner that it is entrenched in the minds of some of our Goan folks that they cannot get any work done independently making sure political slavery not only survives but thrives. Unfair to say that everybody in Goa is a political slave, because there are some who do get their work without any political involvement but those are few and far between. To really abolish political slavery the number of these independent thinking people will have to grow exponentially.
Grown they have, as it showed in the constituency of Benaulim where even the strategy of split voting backfired and some ‘guy’ from the AAP was declared elected. Many might find it discourteous to call an elected representative as some ‘guy’, but that is exactly the point. Every politician needs to be that some ‘guy’ with absolutely no frills, elected to work on behalf of the community and available 24×7 to everybody in the constituency. Time has come to stop their reverence and cut them to size, because the country will benefit immensely if we start getting things done from politicians rather than listen to their non-stop talk. AAP makes that cut compared to other parties because most of their candidate are new faces and exactly fit the bill as some ‘guys’. However, it remains to be seen how the party will go about choosing the right candidates in Goa.
Choosing the right candidates with good credentials will be a challenge because it’s entirely possible these AAP guys could be offered plum government jobs or hard cash by professional politicians so that they can be used as pawns to split votes. The AAP party better spell out their plan in advance, as to how they propose to ring fence their candidates from receiving political favors, immediately or five years from now, when the election dust settles. Being transparent will reduce the trust deficit to a large extent and will increase AAP voter base by attracting voters who are still making up their mind.
AAP voter base has increased to some extent not only from the winning constituency of Benaulim but also from constituency where they could not make it. It means Goans are getting ready slowly and steadily to reject slavery, they just need a small nudge in their way of thinking. It is here that AAP can make inroads and work out a system to help Goans get their mundane work done without political intervention. Sometimes circumstances are such that many Goans especially the generation past cannot fathom the idea that their personal routine business with the government can be done without a politician’s signature. If AAP manages to get their work done and at the same time educate them that there is no need for any political favour, rest assured the party will get a voter commitment for the next elections. Even if the opposite candidate offers money as usual, chances are they will develop a conscience and find it difficult to vote for someone just for the sake of money.
Helping Goans with their mundane work with the government will come at a cost to AAP, even volunteer’s cost money, but the way AAP has been shelling out money in image building, looks like it has a steady source of funding and a clear agenda to run for the forthcoming elections. So if AAP is more transparent in voluntarily disclosing their source of income that should bring about more of the fence sitting Goans to vote for them. Remember AAP came into existence on the anti-corruption plank and while going after the corrupt has been shelved for the moment, the least the party can do is to remind the people of their clean image.
While the Goans of Benaulim constituency was rejecting slavery through their votes, the Goans of Melauli village in North Goa protested strongly to reject the government proposal of building an IIT campus, yet another example that decisions cannot be made top-bottom but needs a bottom-up approach. IIT is a great institution to be proud of for every Indian, but just to make the Government achievement list look good you cannot take the people of the place for granted. Gone are the days where Goans allowed five star hotel projects in the village with politicians promising security guard jobs on the site.
Goans for long have been treated as slaves of the system or of politicians due to the crooked effort put by some whose business it has become to only prop up and endorse politician’s discourse. The Generation Next has understood this twisted design; they are not buying it anymore. AAP has the potential to create space in this territory by focusing on empowering the people. The recent Zilla elections has shown, a change is possible and could be the beginning of the end of all the Godzilla’s that have abused the system.
(The author is a business consultant)
