PANAJI
As Goa inches closer to the once-in-five-years democratic exercise of an Assembly election, national leaders of political parties across the spectrum have overshadowed Goa's politicians in almost every aspect of the preparations for the election -- strategy, striking alliances, fire-fighting intra-party battles and even shouldering mundane organisational chores.
The two-national parties -- the ruling Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition Congress -- have for the past two months driven their preparations with national leaders visibly in the driver's seat.
For the BJP it has been Maharashtra Opposition Leader Devendra Fadnavis who has been in the thick of things, first taking the onus of placating the rebellious Ports Minister Michael Lobo and also taking the lead in constituency-level party activities over the last several weeks.
Fadnavis is expected to be back in the State on December 4 to further fine tune the ruling BJP's electoral machinery.
Veteran and suave politician P Chidambaram hasn't lagged behind for the Congress. From presiding over block committee engagements to placating restive party workers wary over admitting leaders from outside the party, the former finance minister has had his plate full.
The recent finalisation of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC), with one president, two working presidents, a dozen vice-presidents, several general secretaries and joint secretaries, too has contributed little if anything to lighten the burden on Chidambaram and AICC general secretary in-charge of Goa, Dinesh Gundu Rao.
Between them, the Chidambaram-Rao duo are pretty much at the helm and driving almost every aspect of the Congress preparations for the polls, be it strategizing, striking alliances and even shaping up block level committees.
The story of national leaders taking centre-stage rings true in the campaigns of two other parties which are making a serious foray in Goa's electoral battlefield -- Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress.
AAP's supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is himself driving the party's campaign in Goa aided by handpicked confidantes.
The Delhi Chief Minister has already made several visits to the State and announced three major guarantees -- free electricity, jobs and unemployment doles and the free pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's TMC who's surprise political foray in Goa is largely buoyed by the body work of political strategist Prashant Kishore's Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) team, initially seemed to be driven by their newly-elevated Rajya Sabha member Luizinho Faleiro.
But after the initial splash, the veteran from Navelim has seemingly got pushed to the background playing second fiddle. First it was Rajya Sabha MP Derek o'Brien who called the shots and soon the party's vocal MP Mahua Moitra took over doing much of the trouble-shooting in Goa ever since she was appointed the State in-charge by party three weeks ago.
Even Vijai Sardessai's Goa Forward Party (GFP), which prides itself as a regional party and often tom-toms its identity-laced 'Goemkarponn' slogan, seems poised to latch on to a national 'defeat BJP' narrative.
Sardessai has now latched on to the Delhi leadership of the Congress to signal an unlikely partnership for the 2022 polls ostensibly to take on the BJP. On Tuesday he made a quick trip to Delhi and put out on social media a picture of himself and Congress' Rahul Gandhi with others clicked on the lawns of the latter's Delhi residence.
Clearly, a crisis of confidence and leadership within the community of Goan politicians across political parties is baring itself, even as the State drifts into the final two months of the big battle for power over the 2022-27 term of the Goa legislative assembly.
