On a peaceful day of voting, faulty Electronic Voting Machines and VVPATs played spoilsport raising serious questions over the reliability of the entire system. Machine glitches kept voters guessing at Cuncolim, Nuvem, Curtorim, Navelim, Quepem, Siolim and several other places. There is no clarity if these errors can impact the elections, but it surely raises questions in the minds of voters over the fairness of the electoral process. And this comes against the backdrop of parties across the nation consistently crying foul over EVM tampering.
There is no room for such failures in a democratic process, especially at a time when the election is being tightly contested. The Election Commission, in view of the dangers such snags pose to the process, should have been doubly sure about its systems. Can’t have a system that continues to be riddled in controversy. And there can’t be excuses on such a huge democratic exercise, no matter how good and genuine they may appear. The opposition is always going to view these with a needle of suspicion. All the good work that the State Commission had initiated in the build up to the elections has been nullified. In a fair electoral process it must be ensured that nothing comes between the people and their fundamental right to vote. A faulty EVM only robs them of this right.
To add to this, the inconsistencies in the election protocol further blemished the process. In what appeared to be a perfect festive setup with booths decked up for the occasion, a confused lot of electoral officers is the last thing a voter can expect. It’s obvious that there was no uniformity or clarity in electoral instructions passed on, since in several booths, much to the surprise and disappointment of voters, election officials insisted only on Voter Card as ID proof.
All said and done, this Lok Sabha election, which is seen as an acid test for BJP, ended up with a voting percentage much lower than the 2014 elections. The acceptability of BJP is facing a reality check with the much-talked about resentment hovering in the background, coupled with the combined might of Congress and MGP and a backlash from the mining-dominated areas.
The quantum of support extended by the alliance partners, including the Goa Forward and Independents will be measured in every vote. Leads in respective constituencies will give parties insights on their strengths and failures. Deputy CM Vijai Sardesai may have come out in favour of BJP, but it remains to be seen how much of a transition of votes happened from his voters.
The huge turnout in Salcete will substantially change the equation in favour of the Congress candidate, almost reducing the dependency on the mining belt voters. The theory of the silent voter causing an upheaval may not be relevant anymore. However, it is to be seen how much damage is inflicted by the MGP on BJP in their strongholds of Marcaim, Priol and Ponda. The NOTA vote in these areas could also be a barometer to gauge the MGP rejection of Congress.
Ponda was the cynosure of all eyes. For the first time in electoral history, two political veterans Ravi Naik and Sudin Dhavalikar came together for a common cause working in tandem to garner votes for Congress candidate Francisco Sardinha. All eyes will be on the bypoll result and if this new bonhomie between the Congress and the MGP could spill over the State’s political canvas.
While the State was in the grip of the Lok Sabha election, all focus was on the bypoll-bound constituencies of Mapusa, Shiroda and Mandrem. The pulse of the State lay centered here.
