VIBHA VERMA
vibha@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Political instability from 1990 to 2007 may have thrown up various chief ministers, but some senior politicians have managed to get a red beacon on their cars irrespective of the government in power.
Take Pratapsingh Rane, who entered the political arena in the 1970s on an MGP ticket and became a minister almost immediately. He then went on to become the first Congress Chief Minister of Goa and stayed on after it attained Statehood in 1987. He has been sworn in as CM six times.
Now the Leader of the Opposition, he served as CM for nine continuous years from 1980 to 1985 and 1985 to 1989, was re-elected to the position in 1990 but served just three months, before being toppled by defections from the Congress. He returned for another five years from 1994 to 1999, for a month in 2005 and finally was in saddle again after a few months, till 2007.
His stint in the top post ended in 2007 but even though he was succeeded by Digambar Kamat in 2007, Rane was elected as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and in 2012 the Leader of the Opposition ensuring that the red beacon remained atop his car.
The 78-year-old who has always been rewarded with key posts either in the ruling or opposition, put retirement rumours to rest by contesting the February 4 Assembly elections.
Kamat, who was first elected in 2004 on the BJP ticket, has held the Mines portfolio for 12 years from 2000 to 2012, during which he was Chief Minister for five years. He switched loyalties to the Congress in 2005 and became CM in 2007. He was the Mines Minister in whichever cabinet he served, presiding over the department during the period of the alleged mining scam, in which there are 16 cases lodged by the Directorate of Mines & Geology Department indirectly naming him and Rane as they held the top posts during their terms in government.
Famous for switching sides to remain in power, Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar served 10 uninterrupted years as Transport Minister from 2007 to 2016. The leading political figure of the MGP, Dhavalikar was ousted from the BJP-led cabinet in December 2016 for his anti-government remarks.
The MGP was part of the Congress-led government that came to power in 2007 and then also of the BJP from 2012. After almost five years in power, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar dropped the Dhavalikar brothers from his cabinet. Of the three, Dhavalikar is the only who has not been Chief Minister. All three have contested the February 4 polls and are in line for another ministerial berth if they win.
There are others who have served as ministers for long periods but not as long as this trio, not even Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar who have never been able to complete a full five year term as CM.
