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Goa polls: Hopes and possibilities Vivek Menezes and Damodar Mauzo The sunshine state goes to polls on March 3. The present government has been tainted by expose of a series of scams and scandals. What change, if any, can Goans expect? Or will anti-incumbency be a non-factor? Talk to Vivek Menezes and Damodar Mauzo, two intellectuals who feel strongly about issues that concern the sunshine state. --------- Q Is there really a difference between the Congress and the BJP and the MGP and the UGDP and the GVP and the Trinamul? Should we really judge these parties on the grounds of ideology, loyalty, sincerity and love for Goa and Goans? Or should we take politics purely as a business and choose the best businessman? Where is the Parliamentary democracy taking us? Frustration; or helpless and hopeless surrender??? Asked by: Sarvesh A Please remember that Goans had to fight and be liberated to enjoy democracy. For 450 years, our people were ruled by Europeans. In the 20th century itself, Goa suffered under Antonio Oliveiro Salazar, the right-wing conservative dictator of Portugal, who we single-handedly blame for botching decolonization and betrwaying Goans by subjecting us to a humiliating and painful military occupation even after 1961. Though democracy has problems - especially in a country like India - we firmly agree with Winston Churchill's line that "democracy is the worst system of government....except for all the alternatives!" And we also recall that it is democracy, and the historic Opinion Poll that has made us the state that we are. When it comes to these elections, we Goans have to be among the first to reject money and muscle power and vote with our conscience. This is an existential issue now. When it comes to ideology, of the 200 candidates who will contest Goa this year, we find that no ideological difference seems apparent between most of the candidates, though there are marginal differences in the party records. As far aw we are concerned, in Goa the Congress has shown itself to be corrupt and also communal, while the BJP has amply demonstrated that it is communal, and also corrupt! Q Will this election mark the end of illustrous carrers of some of the politicians or will this election too spray no surprises? Asked by: Vaikuntn Talaulikar A Goa's politics still remain dominated by several larger-than-life figures who seem to get elected from their constituencies no matter which party they belong to, or whatever crimes he has committed in plain view. All parties seem incapable of cleansing themselves, or of aspiring to higher standards. We have the incredible case of Babush Monserrate in mind right now, because this is a person who has been a minister in both Cong + BJP governments, and not too far in the past, actually attacked the main Panjim police station with his men. Last week, the papers were full of detailed and documented accusations of massive graft and bribe-taking on one day, and the next day we learned that not only had he rec'd a Congress ticket, but his wife too! Q whats your prediction? Asked by: Deepak A This is a very hard election to predict. For the first time in some decades, there is genuine uncertainty in several constituencies due to a combination of all the factors we have discussed: anti-incumbency, widespread anxiety and dis-satisfaction, disillusionment with political system due to exposed scams and scandals. If - and this a very big IF - money power and coersion can be greatly limited in this Goa elections, we do see the possibility for real change. Q Mr Menezes, isn't it so called secular parties ruling Great stae of GOA have destroyed the enviornmen of GOA? Asked by: VINNY A Vinny, we don't see a big difference between the parties in Goa, and most of the legislators obviously don't either since they have happily shifted between them - sometimes several times back and forth. All parties and the entire economic elites of Goa have disgracefully colluded in recent years to destroy an irreplaceable part of our forest cover and natural heritage in an orgy of destructive illegal mining. Q Respected Sirs, Do you think the scams and scandals will have any impact on the voting pattern? Asked by: Kavalam A We think so. Even if patterns across the country have not usually been shifted greatly by exposed scandals, over here in Goa the people's patience really does seem to have worn out with its Assembly (often called the 40 thieves) where average assets of each legislator has now soared beyond one million dollars, and a series of scam revelations have demonstrated a comprehensive looting. Q How are the Demographic of migrant's voting impact this election, knowing that many have nutured the migrant vote bank? Asked by: Cleto fernandes A It is true that Goa now has a substantial proportion of migrants - perhaps even approaching 50% of the population. This is far in excess of any other state in India, and there are real fears of demographic displacement. Also, migrants often import their voting habits and political allegiances from their home states, and thus vote without regard to local conditions in Goa. Having said all that, we do not believe that migrants have substantially altered the political landscape of Goa as yet - except perhaps in a few seats like Margao and Vasco. Q Do you think that the BJP coming together with MGP will help them get to power?? Or was it better as it was with both of them fighting independent elections?? Also, if they grab power, would they provide better governance then the current formulation??? Asked by: Guru Kamat A To some extent, it is true that the switch of allegiance by MGP from Congress to BJP will strengthen the latter. But more than this alliance, it is the non-performance and scandalous lack of ethics of the existing government that has given an edge to BJP chances. Both parties in Goa have shown themselves to be thoroughly corrupt and communal, but in varying degrees at different times. We do not see any marked edge for either party in terms of proven competence in governance. It is true that people who are deeply disenchanted right now are yearning for a change. Q How strong is NCP as a factor in Goa polls? Asked by: Sarthak A We find that the NCP is much more of a factor in the machinations of the politicians than it is in the minds of the electorate. Goan politics is people-oriented, more than party-affiliated. Take the example of Jitendra Deshprabhu. During the last elections, he resigned from Congress to take the NCP ticket due only to the seat-sharing agreement. His opinions, stances, and assembly votes were unchanged. This time around, he went back to Congress! What is the difference? Q Goans feel offended by the stereotype of Goa. But, Goans politicians do little to change the image. Goa is one of the best locations for IT, BT and higher education. Sadly, it has none. What do you think? Asked by: malnadman A It is true that Goans do feel relatively agitated by crude sterotypes that are often used to marginalize the community. And it is also true that Goan politics has not yet reflected well on the state. However, it is not the case that the Goan economy is languishing behind the rest of the country, even in crucial areas like education, manufacturing and - to some extent - IT. Each of these sectors has seen rapid and impressive development in Goa in the past few years. More can and must be done. Q The dirt and filth accumulated by many years of selfish misrule has to be cleansed. But somehow I don't see that happening in this election. Maybe the old adage is true, "You have to hit rock bottom before you can start to rise". So do you think there's going to be many more years before we begin the cleansing process? Asked by: Cecil Pinto A Goa is a kind of laboratory and microcosm of the best and worst political scenarios thatplay out in India. On the one hand, this is an extremely successful state by Indian standards : very high education levels, human development, GDP, awareness. On the other hand, our politics are now suffering from the same mainstream problems and diseases that have infected the whole nation. As Goans, we are aware of the problems in our home state, but looking just across the borders we can see that it can get much worse! We feel that this is a crucial election, following national awareness movements such as that led by Anna Hazare and Aruna Roy, and there is a glimmer of hope now that Goa can slowly clean itself up. If our state, with all of its special advantages, cannot start to make a difference, then we feel very pessimistic about the country's prospects as a whole. Q MGP has absolutely no ideology. Till yesterday, Congress was their dear one. But if the Congress gets the majority, they would shamelessly embrace them, calling it People’s Verdict. The UGDP and Mickky Pacheco’s GVP are nothing but a bunch of opportunists. Dr Willy, who calls himself a ‘true’ Congressman, has imported yet another bottle, with the same old wine called Trinamul Congress. Asked by: Sarvesh A The AyaRam,GayaRam phenomenon is now firmly rooted in Goan politics, as across the country. When it comes to MGP, we feel that it has already demonstrated that is remaining in politics only due to sheer opportunism. Its main cause - merger of Goa into Maharashtra - which in fact gave it the Maharashtrawadi nomenclature, has been buried for decades! Yet they hold on to the party label only to gain some bargaining chips... Q The Goa Assembly of 40 would have four Alemaos, three Naiks, two Ranes and two Monserattes. 11 out of 40 in the hands of four families. Almost 30 per cent! Your view on this kind of familiy politics Asked by: Sarvesh A While your question is broadly right, let us note that the Naik candidates in the Goa polls are not all from the same family. However, there is indeed a worrying dynastic element creeping into Goa politics, which of course reflects the national trends and scenarios. From our point of view, this is an unhealthy development in Goa, where the line between politics and business is becoming increasingly blurred, and heirs inherit seats like businessmen pass on their inheritances. Frankly, we think businessmen often show superior scruples than our politicians, who are ruthlessly unscrupulous! Q The election is a scam involving politicians from all political parties. It includes pop stars like Remo(electrol icon), token govt appointed intellectuals' and other social elites. Can Menezes and Mauzo comprehend the grievousness of the situation that may erupt like the Arab spring irrespective of whatever political party/parties form government.? Are we going to face with sheer anarchy at the whims of real estate sharks, mining corporations, casinos etc? Asked by: Alex Fernandes A We can certainly state without hesitation that Goa is already going through a process of massive agitations. The people of teh state have already shown great dissatisfaction with the current order in people's movements which have reversed a Regional Plan, many mega-projects, and also rejected SEZ's in a historic series of victories for people power against the vested establishment. We also believe that the intellectuals and artistic fraternities of the state stand squarely against the prevailing political order. The conundrum in Goa is that the same existing satraps and strongmen get elected despite whatever party they belong to at the time of election, and despite all of the above-mentioned dissatisfaction. So this is the unanswered question and challenge for the 2012 polls - will the population's very real aspirations become reflected in the results. ============= --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------