Goa goes to the polls today after witnessing a gruelling multi-faceted campaign that stretched across months. The State saw an unprecedented and intense run-up dominated by national parties trying to establish political supremacy in this tiny State.
While Goa goes to the polls, the common citizen stands at crossroads, caught in a haze. There have been freebies, goodies, free flow of money, outrageous schemes and countless promises of making Goa a la-la land. There is religion and caste-based politics playing in the background, and there is the infamous issue of "defections" with parties and candidates taking pledges before Gods and swearing affidavits to come clean.
We have painfully and helplessly watched mandates trampled upon and violated in pursuit of selfish political gains. We have seen political equations change and power-hungry legislators cushion themselves in the name of development. It's election time once again, and the long torturous wait is finally over. It's the Goan citizen who sits in judgement once again.
As we walk out to vote, let there be clarity of thought in our minds on the merit of the candidate we are voting for, the kind of Goa we envisage and the future we foresee. Let our decision be not influenced by money, freebies and the tall promises that come at every election. Let the vote be for Goa, its glorious identity and to the welfare of every single citizen of the State.
As we move out to exercise our franchise, we need to have a firm belief that together we can drive this change. We need to re-establish this belief and understand that this is the one moment that gives us the supreme right to choose the destiny of our State. Each one of us should have the firm belief that somewhere inside all of us, there is colossal power to change Goa. We must believe in the fact that voting is not only our right, it is our power. Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.
This Valentine's Day, we need to think and vote from our hearts because voting is the expression of a commitment, not just to ourselves, but to the State. It's time for Goa to speak up.
-- Editor
