IN the numbers game that has been going on ceaselessly on the playground of political power for several months in the state, and which has been accentuated with the removal of the NDA from power at the Centre, the BJP has dealt one more blow at the Congress with the luring away of Mr Isidore Fernandes.
If the Congressmen were hoping to reduce the Parrikar government to minority by luring away some of the ruling camp MLAs, the hope has receded by one more difficult and uphill number. With Mr Isidore gone, the Congress now stands at 15 and the BJP 22 in a house of 39 (one less than 40, since Mr Isidore has resigned as MLA from Poinguinim). This is the second clever BJP stroke since the withdrawal of support by the former tourism minister, Mr Francisco Xavier Pacheco to the government and the admission and elevation of Mr Mathany Saldanha to his place.
Mr Isidore has made a statement making a number of accusations against the Congress. One may be tempted to raise the question: why did not he fight those �bad tendencies� by staying on in his party, instead of leaving it for good? A party is only as good or bad as its MLAs and so he was as much guilty of not fighting to correct those bad tendencies as others he accuses may be. That said, it cannot be denied that the Congress in the state remains far from being a united house. Though protestations may be made, and there may be more than the usual number of party leaders ready to swear that the previous jealousies and bitternesses have been overridden by the need to put up a joint front against a powerful and aggressive political enemy, it remains far from convincing, and in truth, elusive. Apart from doubtful cohesion, there seems to be two broad streams of thought within the party� one favouring an all-out attempt to bring down the Parrikar government and the other favouring a waiting game. Some are even prepared to wait till the next elections.
If Mr Isidore was in a hurry getting into a position of power, the Congress looked like the slow passenger train to him; so he jumped on into the BJP Express. It is alive and thriving� and what was more, in need of MLAs. So he could negotiate. And the results are obvious: the BJP makes him resign, so that not only the Congress falls one short but also the Assembly does so, making it easier for the ruling camp to have a convincing majority. And on the top of it all, while the BJP and Mr Isidore make gains, the anti-defection law has to go back home empty-handed without a catch. We do not have any evidence of Mr Isidore doing it with the aim of wiping out a huge loan as is being said. Whether in this particular case money changed hands or not is not for anybody outside the game to say with certainty ( although the Congress leaders have stated that Mr Isidore told them about his urgent need to get cleared of a Rs 38 lakh-loan). However, in general, whoever knows how politics is run in our country knows that even the most principled of men have to make compromises, including financial inducements in order to consolidate themselves in authority.
It is difficult to say whether the numbers game will stop with the strengthening of the BJP position or the weakening of the Congress camp. This is a game which will go on, with attempts to poach MLAs from either side by each other. We never know where it will all lead us up to. This is the most unfortunate side of the fragmented vote the people gave in the last elections. However, after the elections, once the picture was clear that the Congress could not form government, the party reconciled to it, and for a long time there were no thoughts entertained of bringing down the Parrikar government( although hopes for a few from the ruling camp walking out and joining hands with the party abounded) but the installation of the Congress-led government at the Centre changed the scene for the BJP government in the state, making some of the Congressmen get into the rapid act again to pull down the BJP government.
There were serious efforts made by them to �negotiate� with a few of the ruling camp MLAs ( who included a minister or two) and bring them out to join hands with them. However, for reasons best known to them, the efforts failed, and what succeeded was the counter-thrust of the BJP which was meanwhile engaged in cross-poaching. If any Congress MLA had a problem, he was welcome to the BJP camp where all efforts would be made to solve his problem speedily. The ruling camp MLAs whom the Congressmen approached obviously had no personal problems. Or most probably the Congressmen did not have solutions to them.
(courtesy: The Navhind Times, www.navhindtimes.com)
Isidore Fernandes can be contacted as follows:
Email Id
Tel: 2640319, Mobile - 9822101972
_____________
You may like him or hate him. But you cannot help admiring him. Manohar Parrikar has indeed rightly earned the title of � The Grandmaster of Goan Politics.�
MOG ASSUM RAJAN NARAYAN
Goan Observer www.goanobserver.com
_____________
- Forwarded by Gaspar Almeida, www.goa-world.com
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - You care about security. So do we.
http://www.goa-world.com
http://www.live365.com/stations/61664 Live Konkani Music
http://www.mahableshwar.com/
Addresses:
Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List owner: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
URL to this page:
http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans
| Yahoo! Groups Sponsor | |
|
|
Yahoo! Groups Links
- To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gulf-goans/
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
