Distributing money ahead of elections has been a hoary practice in Goa that has changed many electoral equations in the past. The closely-fought bypolls threaten to change course with parties flooding constituencies with goodies and big cash. Can this late cash surge be a game-changer and can it have a neutralising effect on the palpable public anger among the electorate?
Integrity of this democratic process appears to be crumbling under the weight of money. Cash flow is known to have the power to swing votes overnight. On paper there is a tough battle at hand in all the three constituencies “ Mandrem, Mapusa and Shiorda. With cash-strapped Congress playing compromise politics with MGP, the focus has been fighting the BJP.
In Mandrem, if Dayanand Sopte exuded confidence despite the high voter turnout, all eyes were on Laxmikant Parsekar who didn’t find favour with his party for the bypoll. Parsekar did not campaign for the Mandrem candidate and all eyes were on which way his voters would go. With Congress candidate Babi Bagkar running out of steam midway into the campaign, the duel between Sopte and Independent candidate Jeet Arolkar was headed to the wire.
In Mapusa, there has been a straight fight between BJP’s Joshua D’Souza and Congress candidate Sudhir Kandolkar. While Kandolkar initially appeared to be emerging as the front runner, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and BJP supremo Satish Dhond’s ‘personal involvement’ in the last few days appears to have done the trick, making it a close affair.
In Shiroda, Subhash Shiordkar and Deepak Dhavalikar are engaged in what can be billed as “the bypoll of the season”. Subhash was scheming between the disenchanted minority voters who were his loyalists before defecting to the BJP and the workforce of his new party. The contest is wide open since MGP candidate Deepak Dhavalikar had a head start and carries the sympathy attached to the recent midnight coup against the party. Congress extending its tacit support to Deepak comes as a bonus.
The attention now shifts to the high-stakes Panaji by-elections. The behind-the-scene math is being worked out by parties and the lone May 19 bypoll could decide the future of the government. A war-like situation in on the cards since Congress Party has pulled itself back into the game roping in Taleigao strongman Atanasio Babush Monserrate.
For the record the bypoll contests appear to be close encounters and a cash push could drastically change the equilibrium. In electoral politics, there is always a popular belief that votes can be bought and sold. Breezy distribution of goodies and heavy flow of cash is nothing new in Goa and reports suggest that candidates and parties with greater resources have a higher probability of winning. Have Goans moved ahead of the game? Accepting goodies and cash is one side of the story, but actually voting along that line is another.
