PACHU MENON
Ever since he took the helm, Pramod Sawant is proving to be a Chief Minister in the traditional mould. Not for him the ‘politics of coalition’ that has given the state a strange assortment of legislators propping up his party to form the government.
Engineering the split in the MGP, it was quite evident that the CM is a man with a mission. For the moment though he appears to be consolidating the party’s position in the present ghatbandhan.
Although playing his cards close to his chest, with hints being dropped on various occasions that a few more legislators are ‘eager’ to join the BJP, he has apparently waged a war of nerves to wear down his allies.
Exhorting the party cadre to help build the party so that it will not have to depend on allies in forming the government next time, the CM has shown a distinct fondness for reverting back to the conventional style of governance where the single-party rule gave the country and its territories better administration.
Coalitions may be the in-thing in Indian politics today but just as the adage ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’ so implies, the coming-together of an assortment of leaders subscribing to different ideologies will similarly affect governance.
But at a time when major parties are incapable of mustering enough seats on their own, dependence on smaller outfits to enable them to assume power has seen a proliferation of fledgling parties and a rising number of ‘independents’ in the fray with the sole aim of ‘selling’ themselves to the highest bidder for their ‘support’.
Look at the MGP in Goa! From a domineering regional party, it is today a pale shadow of its former self. Yet it unflinchingly manages to align itself with the ruling faction every so often. Is the MGP losing its sheen! Over the years, as the oldest regional party in the state, it has witnessed the storming of its political citadel by a number of dispensations which have however had disastrous innings at the helm only to capitulate to the might of the national parties which had by then firmly established their bases in the state.
Yet, the MGP, unmindful of the turn of events, managed to survive the onslaught though its strength in the assembly was dwindling with every election. With traditionalists continuing to swear by the party’s ideologies, the Lion nevertheless continued to roar. The existence of influential voter-pockets in various constituencies of the state makes MGP a much sought after ally in the event of any election even today.
However it is this fondness for allying with the power-centers in the state that is giving the MGP a bad name. It would not be wrong to state here that the party has been hijacked by its current corps of leaders who, over the last few terms, have relished sharing the treasury benches with the ruling.
The ‘exodus’ of two of its legislators into the BJP camp has however not been taken to lightly by the conformists within its ranks who stand vindicated over their harsh criticism of the party leadership for its selection of candidates to represent the MGP.
Moreover, with many of its senior members, at the risk of being expelled from the party, washing their dirty linen in public, the image of the party can only take a beating. From a party of ideologists and visionaries, the MGP today finds itself reduced to a meager assortment of so-called leaders who serve more of an ‘irritation value’ than anything worthwhile for any political alliance.
The art of negotiations that has given modern-day politics instability and insecurity as natural corollaries to the power-games played has lent the MGP leaders a ‘maverick countenance’. With the Dhavlikar brothers calling the shots, slowly but surely, the party is heading towards a family-raj.
The ouster of general secretary Lavu Mamledar from MGP is indicative of this emerging trend in the party! With the Goan electorate already confused by the prospects of differentiating between ‘legacies’ and ‘dynasties’ in today’s political scenario, the MGP is hard-pressed for survival.
Such self-indulging ‘initiatives’ have only exposed the duplicity of our leaders who are ever ready with their own justifications for their support even if it means going against the mandate of the people. When Vijai Sardesai launched his Goa Forward Party amid great fanfare intent on establishing its base in every corner of the state, Goans were compelled to sit up and take notice of the developments. As a new party which was encouraging youngsters to take a plunge into active politics, expectations from this regional outfit were high.
Moreover, projecting comparatively new entrants as its nominees for the state assembly elections, the GFP chief was on the verge of bringing a whiff of fresh air to the stale political scenario in the state.But the deceit of ’17 changed all that!
Having opened its innings in the state assembly after the 2017 elections with three members, the GFP and its chief went on to assume the role of kingmakers, and defying all political ethics to eventually give the a coalition government that cannot be described as anything but a big joke played out on the Goans. The events that unfolded thereafter have only been ‘extensions’ of the GFP Supremo’s subterfuge games. Goa has always been in the quest for a strong and vibrant regional party to address the local issues robustly as only a true Goemkar can understand the pangs of another.
A number of peripheral ones which dared call themselves regional are either defunct now or are ‘revived’ only during elections. That a couple of them as ‘launching pads’ have facilitated their legislators’ ascent to power riding piggyback on national parties makes the ‘revival’ all the more interesting.
When ‘monetary deliberations’ far outweigh any other consideration in the mad race for power, the result is the rampant horsetrading by dominant parties after every round of elections.An unhealthy trend if ever there was one, political parties should hence understand the importance of going solo and winning elections on their own merits.
An alliance like the NDA survives at the center just because of the overwhelming majority the BJP enjoys as the major partner. When the major-party in a ruling alliance has to depend on encouraging defections within its allies, and from the opposition alike, to increase its individual numbers in the ruling dispensation as is happening in Goa, such a government will always stand the risk of being toppled by similar orchestrations attempted by the other side. In the wake of the CM’s appeal to the BJP cadre to overhaul the party organization so as to form the government on its own when the opportunity next beckons, a need to shun coalitions thus assumes significance.
