Goa’s recently elected representatives of Benaulim, Velim and St. Andre (BVA) have a giant of an expectations riding on them. Even though their party is not in office, they just by being elected representatives can still achieve a lot and in this matter the Benaulim representative has started work in earnest not wasting time and that has already put him in pole position, however, the race is going to be long with lots of twists and turns. Hurdles notwithstanding these constituencies are destined to show the way to other constituencies of Goa as to how elected representatives are supposed to perform without bias, without accepting bribes and be the collective servant of the people. Bodes well for the people of Goa because these three constituencies are also going to be minutely watched for their performance, so extra pressure on the elected to avoid any hanky panky business.
So what should these elected representatives do? For starters they should do some real goal setting for their constituencies, agreed there is a party election manifesto in place, but that comes into play if the elected reps party is elected to office. Elected representatives can still work for the constituency irrespective their party is in office or not. Even the election losers should not be given an escape route to shy away from their responsibilities, be it at party level or individual level. So here is what the people of Goa ought to do, suppose you voted for Mr. ABC of Party XYZ, he fetched 3000 votes but lost the elections, you don’t allow this guy to chill with beer in hand on the beach spending the bonanza he has received for taking Goans for a ride. These 3000 voters must go visiting his home with the constituency problems and force him to be part of the solution. Remember he chose to contest election and nobody forced him too, so he should be prepared to work hard, even if it means pleading to the elected rep to get the job done. This effectively will bring down these split personalities that have made it their business to contest elections as part of Goa’s unique strategy and to get their sponsors elected.
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That brings us to the Revolutionary Goans party that was formed just a few months before elections, a lot of doubt exists and rightly so, in the mind of Goans that it is a party that was formed to split the anger that is prevailing among Goans on the government. Before writing them off with allegations, let’s assume they are genuine, let’s give them the benefit of doubt and go after their candidates and get them to do genuine work for Goa, so what if they have not won they can still contribute their time and effort. They just can’t spring just before elections and then go into hibernation mode. Already they have a winning candidate in St. Andre, put his performance under the radar and let’s amplify the work he does or does not, so much so that the party that supposedly sponsored them to split votes starts to get Goosebumps. Remember the sponsors want them to split not to take control.
A lot of Goa’s elections in the past have been strategically won or lost due to split voting at an individual level, however, this time it was done wholesale at the party level. So one individual who Goa needs to question is this PK guy (not PK from space) who brought his T-party, loaded Goan politicians with the dough and then pulled the plug leaving the candidates helter-skelter, confirming the suspicion that split personalities are not supposed to win but only split. This split did hurt the already beleaguered Congress the most which should make Goans think if it really worth betting on them. Last two times Goans have been voting them little knowing that the party itself is hell bent on giving a walkover, at least in Goa they are. Either they are blackmailed into non performance or unable to shed the corrupt image is debatable, but it attracts people like PK to act like savior to an already sinking party. Without apologizing to the nation for the corruption Congress has done and without sacking all the corrupt from the party, it stands no chance to redeem itself.
The vacuum created by the Congress in Goa can be filled by deserving parties that are willing to take on the government but unfortunately are few in numbers to make an impact in the assembly. Therefore the three elected reps of BVA need to work in coordination with each other as their work becomes critical to showcase to the rest of Goa. Although they will have to deal with the same government servants who are corrupt to the core, it is better all meetings are shown live through social media for the constituents to watch. Remember 3 is a small number against 37 and the entire government machinery will be working against the 3 as their work has the potential to disturb the status quo. These 3 have to move so far ahead in the game that it invigorates other parts of Goa to wake up and take notice as to what is lacking in their constituencies and their representatives.
How will government servants scuttle the work of these 3 reps? One way is through the use of outdated and crooked rules that have never been reviewed for years together. Remember, Goa has a fat bureaucracy and to feed them and keep them busy, processes are made complicated so as to justify these jobs are important. Also they will need to review all protocols that exist in the current setup. Most reps spend their time laying foundation stones, inaugurating maintenance projects and therefore time management of reps becomes very important. Learn to prioritize while managing time because the mission of the 37 guys is to make the 3 their exact replica. Taking a breather and make goal setting your top priority, share it with your voters too. BVP constituency has to lead the way and it has to be different.
(The author is a business consultant)
