Goa Elections: A Quadrangular Fight

Newsclick spoke to Christopher Fonseca, trade unionist and social activist, on the upcoming Goa elections. According to him, the current political scenario seems to be a quadrangular fight.

Pranjal: Is Goa becoming a triangular fight between AAP, BJP and the Congress? With the new emergence of fourth front, how do you see the political situation of Goa today?

Christopher Fonseka: I would call it a quadrangular fight. There are more than 251 candidates in 40 constituencies. That makes an average of 6 candidates per assembly seat. The BJP, Congress, NCP, BGS, Shiv Sena and AAP have all fielded in candidates. There are few seats contested by other regional parties, and by CPI. There is an intense contest for the Goa Assembly 2017 seats this time. The Goa Assembly Elections have seen a lot of new candidates, many of them are unknown on the political horizon. Some parties like Congress have also fielded new faces. Almost all of the Aam Aadmi candidates are, in a way, ‘brand new’ candidates. We find that the entire elections are very intense and lots of issues are being thrown up. Issues starting from mining, to issues of garbage, unemployment as well as inflation, environmental degradation, danger to Goa's identity, danger to casinos, shifting of casinos from here, etc. And many other developmental issues have also been thrown in. These elections are definitely a historic one. We do not know exactly what will be the final outcome.

Pranjal: BJP has been winning in Goa for long now and it is definitely facing anti-incumbency. Adding to it are the politics pursued by the BJP at the center, like the issue of beef ban. Do you think it is going to have an impact on Goa? And since BJP has no new CM face, do you think they are set to lose this election?

Fonseka: It is very difficult to say that BJP will lose the elections. They may not have a CM face, but the persona of Manohar Parikkar wins in Goa. He makes a big difference to the elections in Goa. At the same time, one cannot decisively say that BJP will win this time.

Pranjal: What are the reasons for growth of Aam Aadmi Party in Goa? They have suddenly come up and they are even projecting themselves as the winner of the Goa Assembly elections.

Fonseka: There is a very strong middle class in Goa which historically, has played a very dominant role in deciding the loser or the winner. With the kind of corruption which has existed in Goa for several years, Aam Aadmi Party’s claims that they have done a lot of things is being taken well by people. I can see that the Aam Aadmi Party’s campaign has been like thunder all over Goa, but whether it will be followed by a lightening on any particular constituency that is something we have to see. Will they win in a particular constituency, only the result will show. But no one can deny that they have lead a very brave and valiant campaign.

Pranjal: What are the primary issues on which Goa elections are being fought on?

Fonseka: The major issues concerning people in Goa are unemployment and livelihood. The BJP government has cheated the common people, the working class; their issues and their concerns. People in Goa strongly advocate maintaining ecological balance. They are always preoccupied with the issues of sustainable development. There are also issues of certain development, which kind of stress Goa of its cultural identity. Tourism it is the most important onus of people's livelihood and part of Goa's development. Tourism is one of the most important economic factors for Goa. There are problems like under-employment, seasonal employment. At the same time of excessive tourism, Goa faces crunch of natural resources like water. The other issue of mining which has been there for the last six years also has an impact for many people. There are also concerns regarding destruction due to mining and exploitation of natural resources. There is also an issue of language divide between people. This language issue has been hyped by GSM and MGP, and they have joined forces, along with Shiv Sena. And they are also giving a tough fight to the BJP. People have been sucked into the debate on language. But I don’t know how far it will go, how far it will take this political combination in terms of votes.

Pranjal: A major section of RSS has split.  Do you think Subhash Velingkar, the ex-RSS leader and MGP together are going to give BJP a major challenge?

Fonseka: I can tell you that politics of RSS doesn’t work here Subhash Velankar took a calculated risk. MGP has gained strength at some congress strongholds. Subhah Velankar’s faction is supporting the MGP for now. But when it comes to forming a government, one cannot be sure that they won’t go back and support the BJP, because Ganga and Yamuna might meet at a certain point after the elections.

Pranjal: Are Left parties also contesting elections in Goa and what would be their position in these elections?

Fonseka: Yes, the Left parties have fielded in two candidates. These two candidates are in Salegoan and Santacruz. We campaigned well but might not win. Our vote share should increase. We had a good robust campaign.

Pranjal: What would be the position of Congress? Congress does not seem to figure anywhere in this fight.

Fonseka: Congress has too many leaders, and that’s their biggest disadvantage. Their campaign has definitely not picked up yet as it ought to have. Besides, BJP, AAP and Congress, have all fielded 34-37 candidates. And as far as Congress is concerned, they have also been responsible for dividing the secular vote. That I think will go against them in these elections. Nevertheless, they lead a good campaign last night. They seem to be picking up in certain areas, they might pick up soon. I can’t say for sure whether their campaign has had that cutting edge and that they will be able to cross the Laxman Rekha for ruling Goa.