It was an eventful first fortnight of the last month, of the second decade of the twenty first century. The ZP elections interrupted by COVID, finally came to be completed. The BJP was swept in. The Congress swept under. Not unexpectedly. The pandemic prevented the personal touch, to the elections. It was really a “distance election” as the voters were kept at an arm’s length. Distribution was difficult!
For most of my friends and acquaintances, I have become a sort of politics personalised. The topic of discussions gradually veers around to politics when I join in. I have learnt to live with it. And pretend that I am actually a political pundit. I have not been in the thick of electoral campaign in recent times, although I might have made an occasional guest appearance. Nevertheless I have usually, moved around when election fever is high, met people casually, and got a feel of which way the wind is blowing. But this time as there was no prescribed SOP for such movement, I was left home bound. Still, I have been able to ferret out information, post facto though.
Benaulim village is known for both varieties of nuts, not excluding the coconut. It has come out with a naughty verdict to rival what happened in 1974 when an unknown Luta Ferrao turned the tables on Dr Wilfred de Sousa. That the Judicial Commissioner’s Court overturned that verdict later, is another story
Historically Benaulim is the home of carpenters. And the ZP elections turned out to be a carpenter’s workshop, in a seat reserved for the backward class. One candidate was an architect, daughter of a carpenter; one a carpenter son of a carpenter; another tiartrist son of a carpenter. And all three, are followers of the son of a carpenter. In the end the carpenter son of a carpenter has won. He is otherwise a qualified engineer. Hopefully, he will chisel away at the old and moth eaten order and usher in a new. Perhaps give the much needed termite treatment too, as a friend said. Let me also clarify before someone pulls me up, that in Salcete carpenters and tailors come from the same common stock.
The victory of Hanzel Fernandes of AAP came as a surprise to the uninitiated. Captain Venzy Viegas led from the front despite a mutiny by sections of the crew, at the most inconvenient moment. He has proved to be captain both on land and sea. As his ship floundered in foul weather and many a crew member abandoned it, he navigated through invisible undercurrents and a thunderous storm to pilot it safely into port. A great job in trying conditions, it must be said. But nothing in life is as it looks. He has had the usual but unsolicited help from the Congress.
The Congress has at least four claimants for the Assembly ticket. One a former MLA; another a petrol pump owner; Royla Fernandes (Congress ZP candidate) herself, all from Benaulim and a real estate developer from Varca whose brothers have like Royla’s father been actively seeking, the coveted post, all these years. And therein lay the twist. A victory for Royla meant that she automatically becomes a front-runner for the Congress ticket. How could the other contenders help her undermine their own prospects? Benaulim was the only Assembly constituency where the AAP had retained its deposit with Royla as their candidate. But she became too big for her shoes and misinterpreted the vote, as being for self, rather than for the party which had groomed her. She defected to the Congress. And ironically was defeated by the party, from which she had defected. She has lost not only the election, but her credibility too. And with it, has perhaps lost any chance of getting the Congress Assembly ticket.
But in Nuvem the opposite happened. When Wilfred de Sa contested the Assembly elections his close lieutenants were cousins Remy and Tony Fernandes who hold great influence in Verna and neighbouring areas. When Wilfred broke away to join the BJP, Remy went with him. Tony who owns the Anoshka chain of restaurants stayed put and challenged Wilfred in a colourful rant that went viral on social media. Ever since, the two have been at loggerheads. For the ZP elections Tony was here, there and everywhere with the Congress candidate in tow. Another Congressmen working for the Congress was ever loyal Everson Valles the silent mover reputed as “forever the best man never the groom”. And playing second fiddle, in the shadows were Pausilipo Dourado and Aleixo Sequeira.
And their combined efforts paid dividends. The Congress emerged victorious. The difference is unlike, in Benaulim, the winner here is not seeking an assembly ticket! Politics is a minefield which the Congress failed to negotiate in Benaulim.
Surprisingly the BJP did not field a candidate in Cortalim ZP seat where Alina Saldanha is the sitting MLA of the party. The seat is reserved for ST. The Congress and AAP had a candidate each and there was Anthony Vas contesting as Independent. He had lost the last Assembly elections to Alina by a few hundred votes. A former Panchayat member from the village poses two questions: “Why did the BJP not field a candidate? For whom did Alina vote?”
And he himself proceeds to answer “Four votes were rejected for being improperly stamped. Alina is a retired headmistress and an experienced voter. How can she cast a vote that gets rejected? So hers is not among the rejected votes! And how can an Independent get two thirds of the vote in her ward? Was a deal struck by the BJP? Will Anthony Vas be the BJP candidate next, time considering that Alina is certainly going to be denied the ticket?” The questions await an answer.
The Congress has for sometime been having an open and visible alliance with both Rip Van Winkle and Kumbhakarna. Will it continue with the alliance for the forthcoming Assembly elections too? This question too awaits an answer.
(Radharao F. Gracias is a senior Trial Court Advocate.)
