One can understand people in impoverished regions of the country choosing a bag of ‘grains’ over democracy, but Goa is a well-to-do literate State with the highest per capita income in the country. Why then do we let money power rule the roost at election time to find ourselves in increasing depths of filth, election after election? Do we really turn ourselves into greedy little suckers when elections come calling?
The answer may be more complicated than a simple yes or no: greedy we are perhaps not but suckers we probably are! Goykars still are a self respecting people with a lot of character and if you leave aside our much chastised crab mentality, there’s much goodness in Goan society. Goykars selling their vote & voice for a few pieces of silver would still be a very small shameful minority. But face the unfortunate reality: with the influx of migrants, every constituency today is saddled with a significant vote bank (around 15-35%) that is up for sale. In a situation where the votes of the majority Goans get divided along various fault lines or get wasted as people don’t come out on voting day, these vote banks prove to be the king/queen makers. Moreover, they leave little chance for a clean upright candidate to get elected!
If you ask the man on the street, he shows no hesitation in expressing his disgust over the filthy business that goes on in the name of politics. Why then do we hesitate to stand together and stop this scourge of money power politics? The general refrain is the lack of a creditable alternative to bring all of Goa’s good citizens together. Is it too difficult to find forty bright & upright men from amongst 15 lakh Goans? Difficult perhaps, but certainly not impossible if we also look beyond the spectrum of politics and ‘social workers’ .Former PM Manmohan Singh was persuaded into politics but this reluctant politician rose to the challenge and rendered outstanding service to the country. The organisations working for the state’s welfare like Goa Foundation and others will do a great favour to themselves and Goa if they can identify people of proven calibre and persuade them to fight elections. Putting the right people at the helm would undoubtedly be the best bet to save Goa for posterity.
We lament the lack of a creditable alternative but can’t we at least boycott candidates who indulge in vote buying? We may not sell our vote but even by supporting such candidates we are equally guilty of subverting democracy and inadvertently ensuring the victory of money power. And with money power ruling the roost, it’s but natural that our elected representatives feel no obligation towards their constituents. If we don’t mind being on the losing side with good people for a while rather than on the winning side with corrupted ones, there is hope for a better tomorrow. We need to bell this cat of money power, otherwise every successive election will throw up worse and worse characters!
The 2020-21 budget of Goa is Rs 21056 cr. It means a whopping (compared to other states) Rs 144000 is available with the govt to spend per citizen per year. This kind of money should have got us the very best in amenities & services. But can we trust those who purchase votes to truly represent our needs & concerns and give us our money’s worth? In an environment where collecting money for the next election and attending weddings & funerals ensures their survival, most MLAs aren’t even aware of their primary duties as legislators!
