The Pramod Sawant-led team appears all set to form a new government with 20 BJP MLAs and the support of 5 from outside. The party is comfortably poised for now. However, on the day of staking claim before the Governor, BJP national secretary CT Ravi created another flutter when he said that more MLAs are expected to vote for the treasury benches, and the BJP leadership keeps harping on this that there are MLAs who are ready to resign and join the BJP.
With the numbers completely against the Opposition, the BJP appears to be once again riding high with a brute majority, numbers that cannot tilt the scales in favour of the Congress. It is with this confidence that the BJP has not shown any hurry in government formation, literally mocking Congress. Furthermore, by including all Independents, including the once vocal Aleixo Reginaldo and pre-poll favourite Sudin Dhavalikar, another fierce opponent of Sawant, the BJP has almost rendered the Opposition toothless. Speculations are rife that Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardessai, the lone legislator who has kept the Goa Forward flame alive with a solitary victory, is being considered for merger into the BJP that would bring curtains down on the once fierce regional front.
What Goa needs is a constructive Opposition and a watchdog of the government’s decisions and policies for a healthy democracy. A power-hungry and vulnerable Opposition has been consistently exposed hollow through the BJP power baits. Legislators continue to be compromised on principles, promises and delivery. The BJP has completely exploited this weakness of the Opposition and went about demolishing all roadblocks. So whenever there's a statement like the one made by CT Ravi, it triggers an element of uncertainty, especially against the backdrop of 2019.
A strong Opposition can do wonders for the State and its people because the government becomes mindful of the checks and balances that are at play. Goa has seen how the BJP-led government was forced out of its comfort zone in the run-up to elections and was compelled to rework schemes and strategies with parties like AAP, TMC and RGP keeping a close leash. A brute majority, or rather, the absence of strong opposition, only means that the BJP will have its say and would care less for what happens thereafter. This does not augur well for any democracy.
Instead of continuously trying to finish the Opposition, Sawant should look inwards by trying to overcome deficiencies in governance, try and improvise on governance, and make genuine efforts towards salvaging Goa. There is a lot of unfinished business and much to achieve in terms of winning back the confidence of the common man, and healing the scars of the past. By defanging the Opposition, the new government is only trying to clear its roadblocks and nothing else, and this sets a poor example of governance. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy, so goes a famous quote by Martin Luther King Jr. It’s time the leadership follow this philosophy in governance.
