T  he first tremor of dissension within the ruling coalition was felt far and wide when Town and Country Planning Minister, Vijai Sardesai said Goa Forward will rethink on supporting the NDA in the Lok Sabha polls if mining doesn’t start early.
A sea of political probabilities suddenly opens up after Vijai’s outburst, given the fact that it was he who was holding out a ray of hope on mining till now, be it filing a review petition or calling for an ordinance.
A sudden change of mind despite being aware of the hard reality that mining is not going to resume anytime soon indicates that Vijai is not too happy with the way State politics has been fanning out. That the CAC member deviates from speaking the voice of the government and instead prefers to posture himself with mining-affected is an indication that all is not well.
It also reflects a general sense of impatience with Manohar Parrikar’s absence which has now gone into extra time, with a distinct possibility that the Chief Minister may not be able to take over immediately from where he left in early February.
It is against this political landscape that Vijai is seen to be preparing an exit route for the Goa Forward Party keeping one eye on the bigger picture of 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the next assembly elections. By choosing the mining issue to fire a warning shot at the BJP, Vijai is exploring the smartest possible exit option. Throwing down the gauntlet to government on the virtually impossible mining issue is the best possible way to walk out at will and in the bargain reach out to at least six constituencies at one stroke -- Sanguem, Quepem, Curchorem, Sanvordem, Mayem and Bicholim.
It’s an open secret that there is no love lost between the BJP cadre and Vijai ever since the coalition was born. Much water has flown down the Mandovi since then. Amit Shah’s initial stance of not contesting against its own allies in their strongholds has diametrically changed now. The national BJP president’s clarion call for 35 seats in the next term virtually means that the allies are left high and dry. Look at it the other way, and it also means that the coalition partners are free to go their way.
While the leadership crisis is slowly picking up pace once again, the political space appears to be headed towards a turbulent time. An uneasy calm is seen on the surface as PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar went into an overdrive last week, more on the lines of a stand-in chief minister. If recent developments are any indication, there is much to be read between the lines when one CAC member suddenly takes initiatives of going into a huddle with opposition MLAs followed by the ruling MLAs on the premise of funds for projects.
