What a change! A novice heads the CCP now

| MARCH 31, 2021, 11:44 PM IST

Rohit Monserrate, the son of Babush Monserrate, BJP MLA for Panaji, was swornin as Mayor of Panaji on Tuesday turning a new chapter on the politicallandscape of the Corporation of the City of Panaji. With a young deputy in tow,the instant buzz was that the generation next has taken over. In a politicalenvironment where usually veterans rule the roost, the new CCP alignmentsignals a paradigm shift in equations.

Rohit came under immediate scrutiny with his profile and photos of private lifeflashing on screens taking viewers down memory lane and recounting horrificpages from his past. But politics is a different domain and here Rohit is arank outsider and has never served in public life. In all probability, he isyet to even understand the nuances of Panaji and the requirements of a smartcity. The ignorance of issues is amplified in the fact that he is unable tomake any clear statement on the way forward or his plans for the city whilepreferring to shift the onus to the collective mind of the team of councillorsand the blessings (read support) from his dad dearest.
Panaji has given a decisive mandate to Babush’s team, for convenience sake alsocalled the BJP-backed panel. A choice has been made, and the who's who ofPanaji, the upper crust, the elite and the thousands of voters have given ablank cheque to Babush. Now, there can’t be any complaints on whose name hechooses to encrypt on it. A chunk of these voters would be the ones who electedformer Panaji MLA and chief minister Manohar Parrikar for the six terms he heldsway, and hence the reading between the lines is that a conscious choice hasbeen made.
The CCP owed allegiance to Babush, no matter which party he belonged to, and toput issues in perspective, the goalposts remained the same, irrespective of whoheaded the body. It is now obvious that you don’t require politicalintelligence and acumen to manage the CCP. Let's rephrase this: It takes aBabush to run the CCP. The Panaji MLA may, for formality sake and to show somerespectability to the BJP, have stated that the party leadership will choosethe leader when it was a foregone conclusion that his son would take the crownthe moment he tasted victory at the polls.
Lastly, the election of the mayor may have unanimously sealed Babush’sauthority over the capital city, but on the flip side, it has exposed BJP’s hypocrisyof pursuing dynastic politics, junking experience, credibility and all otherleadership traits.  Ironically, 'shuddhikaran' or the purification oftainted figures has been the new mantra for BJP in its desperate rush to clingto power. Let’s recall the ten breakaway Congress MLAs, some of whom weretainted figures facing charges levelled by the BJP themselves, who wereovernight cleansed of all their sins of omission and commission while hardcoreparty soldiers were relegated to the sidelines. The Panaji script runs onsimilar lines. For now, Ponjekars will have their fingers crossed.

 

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