After defecting from the party, all eight ex-Congress MLAs in Goa have gone silent. None is willing to meet the media, let alone face an interview. Most are still puzzled as they have been left high and dry by the ruling party. They have been inducted into the BJP but given no position. Even senior legislators like Digambar Kamat, a former Chief Minister, and Michael Lobo, former Leader of the Opposition, are on the waitlist.
The BJP does not want to upset its own applecart. It has a stable and clear majority. Its cabinet composition is firmly in place and though some assurances were reportedly given while inducting the turncoats, the timeline to fulfil those is entirely at the BJP's discretion. And currently, there is no situation compelling the party to move in that direction. So everybody, and everything, is on hold.
Amid this uncertainty, Mr Lobo finally decided to open up. A minister in the previous Pramod Sawant Government, he quit the BJP in January and joined the Congress. After the Congress fell short in the election, he was appointed Leader of the Opposition. He rejoined the BJP with eight others within eight months.
This writer interacted with some of the MLAs from the group and they had some pertinent points to make. After losing the Assembly election, the Congress practically abandoned them. Nobody from the hierarchy was interested in them any longer. In addition, the State Government started high-voltage action against certain irregularities in the business establishments of these MLAs. They had no support from the party and were left to fend for themselves.
“I was with the BJP when the party was in the Opposition and the Congress was at its peak,” Mr Lobo said. “Similar action was initiated against me. But [the late] Manohar Parrikar stood firmly with me. He defended me even in the Assembly. Here I was left alone to fight my battle against the mighty state.”
Politicians usually display tremendous fighting spirit. They have great stamina and unbelievable energy levels. No career politician gives up easily. He is accustomed to combat and in most cases accepts challenges head-on. So the question is, what happens to Congress MLAs time and again?
Most of these leaders felt a sense of 'hopelessness'. They were fine with being in the Opposition. They had prepared themselves mentally to take up public issues. They were dejected but accepted the mandate and were coming to terms with it. All they expected was assistance and guidance from the party. But the leadership went silent.
According to them, it wasn't a lack of fighting spirit or an aversion to sitting in the Opposition. But most felt the party would not even come close to power despite their gumption. “Our party was not even attempting to fight,” one of them said. “There is no way in heaven or hell that voters take such a contestant seriously.”
The phase after the first failed coup was an interesting one. When a split was first planned, the Congress moved fast and filed disqualification petitions against Mr Lobo and Mr Kamat. But after the initial flurry, what did it do? Nothing! There were no attempts to keep the flock together. The seriousness evaporated within a week and the MLAs were again left to fend for themselves. A month later, they were gone. Here was a situation where the principal Opposition party had complete knowledge of what its MLAs were up to and yet could not foil it.
Although everyone believed this to be Operation Lotus, this was actually Operation Hand. The BJP did not try to break the Congress. A two-thirds faction within the Congress Legislature Party wanted to join the BJP. Why would the latter refuse? The principal Opposition was getting split without much effort. The BJP put its wheels in motion after receiving the proposal and the inevitable happened.
The Congress no longer enjoys much credibility in the state. Most of the minority population has moved away from the party. Its traditional voter base has splintered. After witnessing two defections by two-thirds of the party’s legislators within three years, voters are no longer giving the party a thought.
Goa witnessed three district council by-elections a few days ago. The party was pushed to a sorry third place in two constituencies and a humiliating fourth in one. In one of these districts, the party had had an MLA just a couple of months earlier.
For now, the BJP's grip on the state is undisputed and it remains unchallenged. There is a vacuum in the political landscape. But none of the players in the arena is capable, at least for now, of even filling it partially.
Smaller parties like Goa Forward and AAP are miles away from becoming a formidable force. The rest are with the BJP, with one exception: a regional force called Revolutionary Goans, mainly comprising youth, which emerged as the third largest party in terms of votes in the Assembly election. It finished a distant second in two of the three district council by-polls. It is displaying promise and spunk but is far from emerging as a 'challenger'.
Pramod Acharya is a senior journalist and columnist and the Editor of Prudent Media, Goa. He tweets at @PramodGoa
