Ramu had taken some time off to travel and see the rest of the country after which he got busy in the festive season, full of parties and eating. On Christmas day, after a round of neureos and oddes, in the afternoon, Ramu fell into deep blissful sleep on his cot by the window, enjoying the gentle breeze.
Naturally, thoughts about Goa and its politics drifted into his dreams. He first saw the one who has deep connections with God, whose permission he apparently got to defect. He noticed other ex-Congress MLAs too including the man from Raia, Nuvem MLA Aleixo Sequeira who was obviously the first in line to be made a minister “as per promises”.
Many of the hopefuls have made trips to Delhi and spoken to powers that be to try and smoothen their way into the cabinet. In his dream Ramu saw them shortly before Christmas, decorating their homes, preparing feasts, and welcoming guests including some new ones, who suddenly called themselves “close” to the hopeful would-be ministers.
However, Christmas came and went and when the hopefuls looked under their proverbial Christmas trees to see if the ministerial berth came gift-wrapped, they were disappointed. They were empty-handed.
When he woke up, it was late evening and Ramu decided to go to his usual spot at the tinto where he would surely meet the wise one- Chintamani, who would have all the answers.
When he met the wise one, Ramu said, “It’s a great mystery”
Chintamani quipped: “Really, what is the great mystery?”
Ramu replied: “You see, when the 8 Congress MLAs joined the BJP, wasn’t it obvious some would get cabinet berths?”
Chintamani smiled and said, “Yes and not even one has got it. Yes, Ramu, I understand your mystery and I know the answer since I’m not only wise but resourceful. You see, at least one cabinet position was finalised, that of Aleixo Sequeira, and his portfolio was also getting decided. The Chief Minister had to get some clearances which would include dropping the Minister from Tivim Nilkanth Halarnkar to make way for Sequeira.”
“So then why hasn’t it happened?” quizzed the persistent Ramu.
‘The CM, party president, and one more, after getting the rights nods decided to tick one more box, the clearance from RSS. The top brass asked and laid down a condition a) Was there really a need to upset the present system, since this would cause heartburn and perhaps dissent b) If the new minister was from the minority community, then a minister from the same community should be dropped to keep the equation balanced.’
Chintamani went on to add that none of the three minority ministers could be dropped at this stage, the party felt. Babush Monserrate is a cabinet friend with benefits and his “value” can’t be underestimated. Next in line was Nilesh Cabral, but since he is seen to be competent and efficient administratively, dropping him would give the wrong signal. That left Mauvin Godinho. After weighing the political pros and cons, there was a passing thought about him but they decided against it at this stage. Thus, with no minority minister picked for sacrifice, the key RSS condition could not be met. Because of this, the existing ministers had a merry Christmas, while the hopefuls, especially Aleixo Sequeira, did not.
Ramu heard all this and said, “This is why I come to you O wise one, you know it all.”
