How would one explain election promises? The German fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, one of the many collected by the Brothers Grimm is a potential parable. The story goes something like this: Hansel and Gretel are abandoned in a forest. They try to return home but are unable to find their way out of the jungle. Tired, hungry, and thirsty they come across a lovely house made of gingerbread and other goodies. Maddened by hunger they take out chunks of gingerbread and eat it. An old crone living there invites them in. In their naivete they enter and put themselves in mortal danger. They finally escape.
Election promises are like the gingerbread house. Each political party constructs an appetising structure to entice voters who just want to improve their lives. Once the voters get snared, they are trapped.
In the run up to the 2022 elections, political parties in Goa have been cooking up delectables for Goans. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has promised free pilgrimages for Hindus, Muslims, and Christians if they come to power in Goa. This is besides 300 units of free electricity and job reservations for Goans in Goa. The TMC has promised an esoteric ‘Navi Sakal’ if they come to power. The currently ruling BJP has promised to make Goa into a ‘model state’. Pramod Sawant, in August, had announced 16000 litres of free water per month to Goans. While Rahul Gandhi recently said that Goa’s environment should be protected at all costs.
These are only some of the goodies that are being proffered to Goans before the 2022 elections. There will be more to come once election manifestos are released and campaigning begins.
It has been said that the Goan electorate is different, they are not swayed by national considerations. Goans are influenced by caste, religion, and an affinity they develop for politicians that is based on personal equations and gratitude for favours granted. The former two reasons are no different from the characteristics of other electorates in India. However, the latter is interesting given that Goa is a small state and the degree of separation between the elected representative and the people of the constituency is small. The population of the constituencies ranges from 21446 in Murmugao to 35938 in Vasco Da Gama. There is therefore more scope of influencing voters through a personal equation than in working for the upliftment of the constituency.
The question is then why do parties need to make these grand promises? They know the electorate is more concerned with the assistance the politician provides to them as families and individuals than what is required in their area.
The election manifesto provides a vision of what the party has in store for the State. In the promises that the parties have made in the last few months has there been an acknowledgement of the causes of the problems Goans face? Politicians speak of unemployment among Goan youth.
There is a certain paradox here. Goa has the third highest unemployment rate, but it attracts migrants to such an extent that Pramod Sawant decided to set up a migrant’s cell. It has been reported that migrants come to Goa because of the higher wages offered when compared to other States. As per the Directorate of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, there are 10 government and 3 private ITIs. In 2019, there were 2902 seats available in the government ITIs and 400 in the private institutes. Of these, 1062 and 101 seats went vacant. In the 2020-21 prospectus, the government ITIs are offering 2464 seats. This raises at least two questions. The first, whether there are enough training institutes for the youth of Goa. And the second, reasons for these seats remaining empty.
Could it be that migrants are not stealing jobs from Goans and instead are filling a vacuum created by inadequate training infrastructure and possibly an unwillingness of Goan youth to become employable? If that is the case, then promising 80% jobs for Goan youth or providing 10000 jobs to Goan youth is not going to solve the problem.
This is just an example of how poll promises don’t try to solve the problem and are therefore vacuous and superficial.
There are other urgent problems that need looking into. Like the number of cases stuck in Mamlatdar courts. Adjudicating cases is only one part of the Mamlatdar’s job. The Mamlatdar is also a returning officer for the State Election Commission during elections. Goa has one Municipal Corporation, 12 Municipal Councils, two Zilla Panchayats, and 190 Village Panchayats. Elections, and by-elections, must be conducted for all these institutions. Besides shouldering this responsibility, Mamlatdars must attend trainings and meetings. Then there are the State and national holidays. Is it any wonder then that a recent article claimed that there are 3000 cases pending in the Mamlatdar courts? Would appointing more Mamlatdars help?
If political parties are indeed concerned about the wellbeing of Goans, then they should concentrate on the basics. Let election manifestos concentrate on improving infrastructure while simultaneously reducing the corruption that goes along with it; understanding the challenges that youth face and then providing skills so that they are employable in any part of India, enhancing the efficiency of the administration, and reducing the corruption within the political system.
The choice Goans have is between the fire and the frying pan. The empty promises of manifestos sweeten this bitter pill. This will only change when Goans tell political parties what they want, instead of political parties inveigling the citizens of Goa with gingerbread houses.
(Samir Nazareth writes on socio-economic and environmental issues)
