Eight out of 11 Congress MLAs have joined the ruling BJP, in the latest iteration of A Goa Curse. The state has gained a particular notoriety for its politicians, who are switching sides completely disregarding the judgment of the people. BJP Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has been successful in splitting the Goa Congress twice in three years. In the last assembly, 15 out of 17 Congress MLAs had left the party, most of them for the BJP. In the February assembly elections, the Congress had fielded a large number of newcomers. All its 37 candidates twice Once took the ‘Oath of Loyalty’ with the leader Rahul Gandhi, in a temple, a church and a dargah, and vowed not to blame in the signed affidavit. All the gods could do nothing to prick the conscience of these MLAs who have betrayed the mandate. If anything, that drama only made the latest episode of this curse a mockery of democracy. Not that Goa is the only place where this happens – in Bihar, the JD(U) recently reorganized the RJD as its ally instead of the BJP, tantamount to disrespecting the popular mandate. Bihar was a rare instance when the BJP was falling prey to its own strategy.
The party is back in Goa, and in style, though it didn’t need any more MLAs to stay in power. In the 40-member strong assembly, it had 20 MLAs of its own and the support of three independents and two MLAs from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). With the merger of eight Congress MLAs, the government now has the support of 33. The Congress has lost its ability to be an effective opposition. It was being built for months and Congress tried to avoid it. As soon as it got wind of the move, the Congress removed Michael Lobo from the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and Digambar Kamat as a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC). While both Mr. Lobo and Mr. Kamat have cited dissatisfaction with the Congress high command as the reason, the real reasons are very transparent. Despite serving as the Chief Minister of the Congress, Mr Kamat, a seven-time MLA from Margao, has a history with the BJP as he was one of four BJP MLAs to win in 1994. In 2014, the BJP had associated him with them. The case of multi-crore mining scam, the investigation of which is still hanging on its head. BJP minister Vishwajit Rane had demanded a probe into Mr. Lobo’s assets. Mr. Lobo and his wife Delilah are among the richest legislators in the coastal state. With the defection of Alexo Sequeira and Rodolfo Fernandes, the BJP now has a strong hold in Catholic-majority South Goa. Mr Kamat is said to have gone back to the temple and obtained God’s permission to renegotiate his pledge of allegiance to the Congress. Meanwhile, the people of Goa wonder if their vote makes any difference.