The 2022 elections have given Goa 19 new faces “ 8 (Congress), 5 (BJP), 2 AAP, 2 Independents, 1 each RGP and MGP. This has brought in a refreshing change in the composition of the new Assembly raising new hopes. A few of the newly elected members have got off the blocks right away raising contentious issues in their constituencies. Venzy Viegas in Benaulim has been seized with the bypass-on-stilts issue while Cruz Silva from Velim constituency has taken up the River Sal dredging issue. Up north, Aldona MLA Carlos Ferreira has spoken his mind over getting rid of the “commission system” in development projects while emphasising quality works.
For the Congress, which has eight newcomers in the list of 11 legislators, there will be a huge expectation, especially with names like former advocate general and a veteran in law Carlos Ferreira in their ranks. The BJP may have got the mandate with 20 seats, but from the Opposition's perspective, they have to bear in mind that they represent over 66 per cent of the electorate, and that is huge. If we may recall, the BJP vote-share was reduced to 33.31 per cent, and although the vote share of Congress reduced drastically, the cumulative figure puts the Opposition on a strong footing.
While Congress goes into an introspection trying to find the fault lines, one very glaring failure seen from the sidelines has been the party’s failure as an Opposition. The mandate reflects the fact that Congress as an Opposition failed to bring people-centric issues before the legislature while excessively indulging in theatrics and criticism of policies. It failed to lay the issues and concerns of the common man on the table and force a resolution.
Very often, newly-elected legislators tend to get carried away with the mandate and show an overwhelming rush of adrenalin in attending to the issues, only to disappoint at a later stage. In a normal course, the success of an MLA is measured in terms of the representation he makes for his people, the issues he takes up in the Legislative Assembly, his approach towards his constituents, accessibility, involvement, delivery, and lastly, the works that are undertaken. The fierce 2022 election may have gone to unprecedented extremes, but it has its positives. Parties and legislators have a much better understanding of what the electorate expects from them.
A mandate for the nearly 50 per cent new faces means that the electorate has reposed their trust in them for some reason. The new brigade takes guard amid a huge wave of expectation against an ecosystem that has been hugely compromised in the past. With power comes great responsibility, and with a change comes new hopes. The fierce activism and fights over public issues of the past will not count anymore, for this is a new beginning and a new domain. Two-thirds of the voters will have their eyes glued on each one in the Opposition, and that time begins now.
