The upcoming 2027 Goa State Assembly election has already started to create a buzz. Many so-called self-styled social workers have made their presence felt through social media, electronic media and the print media. They are not missing any opportunity for publicity, whether good or bad. Nothing is wrong with contesting elections. It is every individual’s democratic right, enshrined in our Constitution. But the way some cunning candidates want to portray themselves as the saviours of the State of Goa is something that is difficult to digest.
The simple meaning of the word ‘development’ has now expanded to include their own and their family’s development first, and then comes the country and fellow citizens. There are some crafty candidates who have attained expertise in capitalising on negativity and scoring brownie points just to remain in the daily limelight through media bytes. It is high time to deeply introspect on each and every candidate, their past performance, what they have done for society at large, why they failed to fulfil their promises, and what they will do during the next five-year term if elected.
Every candidate must come out with a vision document for his/her constituency. To start with, topmost priority must be given to issues such as environmental protection, a good sanitation system, effective garbage collection and waste disposal units, keeping streets and beaches clean, the supply of potable clean drinking water, crime control, corruption control, traffic management, good-quality roads, an uninterrupted power supply, a top-class public healthcare system, world-class sports infrastructure and, lastly, job creation. Candidates must ensure that their vision document is achievable and practical to implement.
For the country to be declared a developed country by 2047, all the above-mentioned parameters are very essential. Whichever candidate or political party succeeds in selling and marketing their vision document has a high probability of winning the next State Assembly election. Candidates should and must remember that money power will not be the sole controlling factor in winning elections in Goa. Goan voters are now enlightened and will vote for candidates who mean business and do not just make empty promises. The time to take Goan voters for granted and continue to fool them is now forever over. Finally, changing political parties after winning an election must be criminalised by including relevant non-cognisable sections under the BNS, such as breach of trust, fraud and cheating, in order to stop candidates from jumping to another political party out of greed for power.
Paul Pereira, Utorda
