It must be said that the eight turncoat Congress MLAs from Goa who switched sides to the ruling dispensation have not fared as expected in giving a major lead to the ruling party candidate in the just concluded parliament elections. They appear to have failed the test. While some were not satisfied with the lead they got in their respective constituencies, still others fared very poorly, with the INDIA bloc candidate Viriato Fernandes getting a lead in these constituencies.
Two days after the Lok Sabha results, the Mormugao MLA reportedly took full responsibility for the defeat of the party’s South Goa candidate at the polls saying that the party workers in his constituency worked against the party. In Nuvem constituency the Congress candidate Captain Viriato got an unassailable lead of more than 13,000 votes. It is pertinent to note that after NDA’s electoral reverses in Maharashtra, Dy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has offered to step down from his post. Incidentally the Nuvem MLA is a minister in the Goa cabinet.
It is for the turncoat MLAs to retrospect on what went wrong.Questions that need an answer are whether it was a wise move on their part to switch party loyalty. Whether the electorate have not forgiven them for going against the mandate given to them. More importantly, what will be the impact on their political future, as and when Goans will vote in the 2027 assembly election.
