The bugle is blown for an epic battle of municipality elections. Days after the BJP State Executive Committee passed a resolution extending its unstinted support to the controversial linear projects, anti-coal protestors and organizations countered and threatened to derail the saffron brigade by playing a strategic and critical role at the hustings. At a time when parts of Goa continue to be on the boil with activists, NGOs, people and political players fighting against projects, especially double-tracking and coal expansion, the BJP core committee's decision to go for this resolution is a strategic move to polarize voters ahead of the civic elections.
The move, which comes against the backdrop of a stinging opposition at the recently concluded Legislative Assembly with a series of emotional speeches and poems by some of BJP MLAs shows that the party is playing to a clear game plan. Instead of going defensive, the party has decided to galvanize its forces and go on the offensive. BJP general secretary and former MLA Damodar Naik has echoed party sentiment at the core committee meeting that the Zilla panchayat result proved that rural Goa didn’t have issues with the development projects. This is a clear indicator of what the party is targetting next.
The decision to strongly back controversial projects and defy opposition mindful of the fact that in doing so it could make life difficult for some party MLAs like Clafacio Dias, Wilfred D'Sa and WRD Minister and Velim MLA Felipe Neri Rodrigues speaks of a determined effort to silence opponents at all costs. The BJP, in one stroke, has sent out a loud and clear message that the party is not in a reconciliatory mood. The reasoning behind this change in attitude is understandable because there are clear indications that majority of the aggrieved legislators will, either way, seek realignment ahead of Assembly elections.
The civic polls may not be a realistic barometer to gauge the success or failure of the ongoing agitations, but strange is the course politics takes. The civic polls will be used as a testing ground, and BJP will be up against key issues that the government is currently facing. On the other hand, the Opposition will have to roll up their sleeves and pool together all resources because a BJP win on the lines of Zilla Panchayat would be portrayed as a mandate for development virtually bringing down the curtains on protests. Parties and individuals seeking to capitalize on opposition to the three linear projects by making it a poll issue are taking monumental risks because this move would make or break an agitation which at one point was shaping to be a major State issue.
The advantage currently appears to be tilted towards the BJP because of the limited civic jurisdiction of the opposition. However, billed as the semi-final to Assembly polls, the saffron brigade has a lot to fight for.
