Screening Committee chief Oscar Fernandes
surrenders to ‘scheming committee’ of family raj
SUJAY GUPTA
Speaker Pratapsing Rane is used to often saying, “the ayes have it, the ayes have it” in the Assembly. In the powerhouse of Goa’s pre-poll politics, he can now very well say, “the families have it”, twice over.
The photo finish to the race for the final four Congress tickets was not a pretty picture. It ended in a heart break for two of the Chief Minister’s candidates Vijai Sardessai and Vijay Pai Khot and has the stamp of complete dominance of the Rane family with the Alemaos giving silent support.
So brutal has been the power of the Ranes that they have neutralised Chief Minister Digambar Kamat into pitiable obscurity. It has also brought into very sharp focus the role played by the Chairman of the Screening Committee Oscar Fernandes, who was brought in with the sole purpose of ensuring just and equitable ticket distribution. He has fulfilled his role to a different kind of perfection. He has danced to the tune of the Alemaos
and the Ranes by remaining a silent saint and doing nothing — a la Manmohan Singh — as the Ranes and the Alemaos bulldozed their way into cornering the maximum number of tickets.
The people of Goa should know this. Of all the 33 tickets allotted by the Congress, not one is the Chief Minister’s personal choice. Yes, not even one. And the last twist of the knife was reserved for the last day. Vijay Pai Khot resigned as an MLA and from the BJP, on the assurance from Digambar Kamat that he would get the Congress ticket from Canacona much to the chagrin of the local Congressman Isidore Fernandes. Once he did that, the party clamped down and said that giving a Congress ticket to a BJP MLA, 24 hours after he resigned would send a wrong signal. This was a supreme salute to the deity of double standards. Vishwajit Rane has made the politics of defection into a fine art by roping in defectors leading to loyal Congressmen defecting and that’s fine, according to people like Oscar Fernandes. Not encouraging a defector like Khot is the right thing to do, but it was done for the wrong reasons. Here it was done to cut the Chief Minister to size.
It has surprised even Oscar Fernandes’ closest political friends and supporters that he has passively allowed this takeover to happen at the cost of the Congress. Any political novice will realise that giving a ticket to M K Sheikh in Fatorda in the wake of the huge surge of sympathy for Vijai Sardessai, is a virtual surrender of a seat. In Canacona, the fight will be three-cornered and reduce the Congress’ chances. The crowds in Sardessai’s residence in Fatorda after he was denied a ticket was procession of mourning which soon turned to anger and defiance against the Congress. The block Congress, the frontal organisations and local community groups have pledged support.
Speaking to senior AICC leaders on Saturday, it was clear that the allotment of seven seats to Ranes, (family seats plus their candidates) Four to the Alemaos and two and now Isidore’s ticket to the Monserrate’s (Babush and Jennifer) was planned systematically. This begs the question. Why? One of them (not Oscar) said this, obviously not wanting to be named “If we didn’t please Churchill he would have left, the Monserrates can do damage if ignored and you can’t contest the elections by not taking the Ranes along. Don’t forget, their links with MGP will be important later”. However, this senior leader pointed out where Oscar Fernandes faltered. He was expected to do a balancing act by accommodating either Dayanand Sopte or Rajesh Patnekar from the BJP and giving the other some other sop like a Chairmanship. Meanwhile, the formula for the Alemaos was tickets to the sitting MLAs and backing Valanka and Yuri as independents. Here too Churchill put his big foot down and the party succumbed.
There is only way for Oscar Fernandes to redeem himself from the position he has put his party in. Win more than twenty seats, including all given to the families. With the rebellions in most seats and parties like the TMC giving funds and support the all important crown could elude the family raj. Where will Oscar Fernandes hide then?
