The battle lines are drawn with 301 candidates set to contest the February 14 elections, a quantum jump from the 250 candidates at the 2017 polls. Interestingly, Siolim recorded the highest number of candidates with 13 in the fray, followed by 12 in Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's constituency of Sanquelim.
The final list throws up one interesting statistic. Nearly 73 per cent of the elected representatives in 2017 are now contesting on a different symbol, thereby compounding the theory that party ideology is no longer relevant in this election. A majority of the candidates who have switched parties are exuding confidence in personal charisma, more than the party affiliation. For example, in Panaji, Atanasio Monserrate who won on a Congress ticket in 2017 is now contesting as a BJP candidate. So is the case in Mandrem, where Dayanand Sopte who originally won on a Congress ticket is seeking re-election on a BJP ticket. Similar is the case of Clafasio Dias in Cuncolim and several others.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and election in-charge for BJP in Goa, Devendra Fadnavis, in the latest media interaction, has identified two strange traits on the political landscape of Goa. He says Goan politics is driven by various legacies, each bearing its distinct characteristic. Secondly, he says everyone is in a hurry, and nobody wants to wait for a later day while making an oblique reference to some of the BJP leaders who have moved away from the party and decided to contest on another symbol. His statement holds relevance not only to the BJP but to other players as well. In the run-up to the 2022 election, Goa has strangely seen candidates making as many as three switches between parties in barely a fortnight. And candidates have spared no time in joining a rival party on being denied a ticket. On the flip side, we have seen parties promising a change, the absurdity of which is that tainted figures of yesteryears are piloting this turnaround.
Probably, for the first time, the BJP had to look outwardly and pick up names that bear no insignia of the cadre and the party has taken upon the challenge of blending its grass-root workforce with rank outsiders. The quest for winning has been non-negotiable, to an extent that even the famed Manohar Parrikar legacy had to be kept on the back-burner.
Fadnavis made a sweeping statement that nobody in the political fraternity can take the legacy of Manohar Parrikar forward. He implied that the BJP does not justify Utpal's claim over the legacy, and his related pitch for a party ticket. "Parrikar's legacy belongs to the BJP, and not to anyone", stated Fadnavis. These are clear indications that the BJP is looking to move past the legacy factor, at least in 2022.
Amid the election din, several questions prop up: Why such a reckless and chaotic competition? Why is there a mighty hurry from candidates old and new to contest elections? What is the basis of their political ambitions and what are the objectives? And what are the deliverables? Candidates will have to come clear.
