------------------------------------------------------- CONVENTION OF THE GOAN DIASPORA FROM GOA INTO THE WORLD Lisbon, Portugal June 15-17, 2007 Details at: http://www.goacom.org/casa-de-goa/noticias.html -------------------------------------------------------
Dark horse Digambar Kamat gets CM's slot in Congress-ruled Goa FN Panaji (Goa), June 8: Goa's re-elected Congress' choice of Margao legislator Digambar Kamat as the chief minister of India's smallest state took all by surprise, with Kamat being the unexpected winner in a battle involving bigger players. Till late Thursday evening, it was thought that the OBC (other backward caste) Bhandari leader Ravi Naik was front-runner in the race, for which five-time former chief minister Pratapsing Rane was also seen by political watchers as a possibility. March 1954-born Kamat is a businessman and real-estate developer, and though he started his career in the Congress, till a couple of years ago he was the No 2 man in the Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government in a Goa that has seen politicians repeatedly change sides. Kamat will be the 15th chief minister of the State of Goa, a status granted to this region in 1987. There were also three chief ministers of Goa when it was a union territory, between 1963 and 1987. A Science graduate, Kamat has been an MLA since 1994. His election as chief minister might have taken him too by surprise, as till the other day, advertorials in the local media put out by circles close to him had projected him as a leader of "Amchem Madganv" ("our Margao", the South Goa headquarters town and commercial capital of Goa). Kamat claims the position of being Goa's "longest serving power (electricity) minister". He has also held the mining and other portfolios. Like many politicians in Goa, he too is connected with sports -- particularly cricket and bandminton local bodies. In elections held on June 2 in Goa, the Congress and its NCP allies got 19 seats (16+3) in Goa's 40-seat assembly and the other main contending party, the BJP, got 14. BJP, having come so closer to power which it expected to seize, has already begun highlighting infighting and conflict for power within the Congress. Party leaders from Delhi were huddled with newly-elected legislators in Goa, trying to hammar out a choice for CM -- and also announcing at one stage that a decision had been left to the party leadership at New Delhi. The jostling reflects both individual attempts to seize power, and also party attempts to balance off pressures from various groups. Ravi Naik belongs to the Bhandari community, Rane is from a landed and dominant segment of the Marathas. Fortunately for the party, no senior leaders from the Catholic community got through this time to add to the number of claimants. Kamat takes over from Pratapsing Rane, a doughty member of an influential zamindar-type family from north eastern Sattari region of Goa. Rane himself served for five terms, and dominated politics here for the entire decade of the 1980s, without interruption. Ironically, Rane himself came to power in January 1980, after the then faction of the Congress, which had just won power, could not settle on two more-influential politicians -- Anant Narcinva Naik and Dr Wilfred de Souza. Kamat too takes over as the wholly unexpected dark-horse in the race. In February 2005, the departure of Kamat from the BJP -- at a time when that party lost power in New Delhi too -- brought the once seemingly-dominant party to its knees in Goa. BJP leaders and RSS campaigners had then rushed to his home to "take stock of the situation", while his chief minister, Parrikar, also tried to work out things on the phone. Local political analysts had then said that the departure of the number two man in the Parrikar cabinet "and the party's most loyal face in south Goa" could come as a stunning blow to the BJP. BJP tried to pull Kamat back, but Kamat said he was "free to take any decision". Kamat hails from the influential but small Saraswat Brahmin community, and becomes the second CM from there after Manohar Parrikar. This decision to select him reflects the complex tug-of-war nature of Goa's polity, attempts by political parties to weigh options among different groupings, and also the real-politik brought on by the josting for power among various senior politicians, all of whom feel they deserve the slot. Twelve of the 15 chief ministers of Goa spanned the state's instable decade of the 1990s. But citizens here have clamoured for President's Rule, at some stages, and not all forms of stable-government here has been appreciated, since some of it has been known for the controversial nature of its rule. Earlier chief ministers of Goa were Dayanand Bandodkar (Dec 1963 to Aug 1973), his daughter Shashikala Kakodkar (Aug 1973 to Apr 1979), and Pratapsing Rane (Jan 1980 to Mar 1990). CMs who served for shorter stints included Churchill Alemao (Mar 1990 to Apr 1990), Dr Luis Proto Barbosa (Apr 1990 to Dec 1990), Ravi Naik (Jan 1991 to May 1993), Dr Wilfred de Souza (May 1993 to Apr 1994), Ravi Naik (Apr 1994, for six days), Dr Wilfred de Souza (Apr 1994 to Dec 1994), Pratapsing Rane (Dec 1994 to July 1998), Dr Wilfred de Souza (July 1998 to Nov 1998), Luizinho Faleiro (Nov 1998 to Feb 1999), President's Rule (Feb 1999 to Jun 1999), Luizinho Faleiro (June 1999 to Nov 1999), Francisco Sardinha (Nov 1999 to Oct 2000), Manohar Parrikar (Oct 2000 to Feb 2005), Pratapsing Rane (Feb 2005 to March 2005), President's Rule (March 2005 to June 2005), Pratapsing Rane (June 2005 till June 2007). (Indo-Asian News Service) -- FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490 (after 1300IST) Skype: fredericknoronha Yahoochat: fredericknoronha http://fn.goa-india.org http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com Email fred at bytesforall.org Res: 784 Saligao 403511 Goa India ------------------------------------------------------- Goanet recommends, and is proud to be associated with, 'Domnic's Goa' - A nostalgic romp through a bygone era. This book is the perfect gift for any Goan, or anyone wanting to understand Goa. Distributed locally by Broadway, near Caculo Island, Panjim & internationally by OtherIndiaBookStore.Com. For trade enquiries contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------