By Sanjay Borkar
Panaji, Sep 18 (IANS): The BJP government in Goa has been chanting the mantra of 'ease of doing business', but it is 'ease of defection' that it has been able to promote better, with eight MLAs from the Congress most recently joining the saffron party to keep up the state's long political tradition of slippery loyalties.
Former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, one of the defectors from the group of eight, justifying his deed said that 'God has told him to join the BJP'. This has largely caught the attention of many people across the country.
Goa may be a tiny state with famous beaches, heritage sites and antique structures built during Portuguese colonial rule, however it makes a big bang when it comes to politics.
Since 1963, Goa has witnessed 30 Chief Ministers of various parties and imposition of President's rule five times due to political crises.
From 1989 to 1999, ten times Chief Ministers were changed. Very notably during this period on April 2, 1994, Ravi Naik became Chief Minister for just six days, who had changed sides from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party to the Congress.
The first defection in Goa politics was engineered by Goa's first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar, popularly known as Bhausaheb, in 1970.
He saved his government from toppling by splitting 'United Goans Party' after his own MLAs from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) revolted. The rebels and defectors of that period, though, didn't win the next election.
Such defections happened in subsequent years with many politicians changing sides to either become chief ministers or to unseat rivals.
After the liberation of Goa, the MGP had the blessings of the voters, hence till 1979 it could rule very well. However, later Congress usurped the power from MGP and encouraged defection in regional party.
This is what made MGP leader and Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar to lambast on Congress recently, after eight MLA's of national party joined BJP.
Last Friday, Sudin Dhavalikar claimed that the Congress had invited curses by splitting MGP many times in the past and that the grand old party is now paying for its 'karma'.
Dhavalikar's reaction comes two days after eight MLAs of Congress joined the BJP. Dhavalikar claimed that one has to pay for 'karma' within 50 years. He also said that this is applicable to all parties who engineer splits.
Dhavalikar, now the power minister in the BJP-led government, was also a minister in the erstwhile governments of the Congress.
He was dropped from the cabinet in the last term (2017 to 2022) of the BJP government after his two MLAs split from the regional party and joined the saffron party then. Dhavalikar, however, is now a minister in the BJP government.
Since 2017, two major rounds of defections have taken place in Goa, wherein Congress MLAs have switched sides by joining Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This had helped the BJP to retain power between 2017-22, and now, to become stronger.
Despite the Congress being the largest party in the 2017 Goa Assembly election with 17 MLAs, the BJP having just 13 seats outplayed the former to form the government and completed the term with full strength by welcoming Congress defectors in its party fold.
In the last term of the BJP government, in March 2017, the then Congress MLA Vishwajit Rane resigned from the party as well as an MLA and joined the BJP. He won the byelection then and became a minister in the BJP government.
Then, Congress MLA Ravi Naik's son Roy Naik contested against Rane on a Congress ticket. Before the Assembly election in February 2022, Ravi Naik joined the BJP and got elected from Ponda. Now Ravi Naik is a minister in the cabinet of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
In October 2018, another two Congress legislators, Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte, also resigned and joined the BJP, subsequently winning the byelections.
Switching sides didn't stop here. On July 10, 2019, Congress faced a third setback after 10 more MLAs along with Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavalekar switched over to BJP. Kavalekar, along with six other defectors, however, lost the Assembly elections in February 2022.
Congress made issue of this 'defection' during campaigning of February 2022 election and to seek sympathy from voters made their candidates take oath before gods in church, dargah and temples. Not only this but they swore an affidavit and pledged on constitution.
The candidates of Congress who did all those exercises to garner votes and got elected, eight among them on September 14, 2022 merged into BJP, after their two attempts had failed in July and August.
Former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Sankalp Amonkar, Rajesh Faldesai, Aleixo Sequeira and Rudolf Fernandes, are the eight legislators which have switched parties.
"I have faith in God. I again went before god and told him 'such' is the situation, what should I do? God told me you take the decision (to join BJP), I am there with you," Kamat justifying his decision said.
Now the people of Goa say that politicians are defying God to grab power.
In the 2022 election, Congress had 11 MLAs in the 40 members of Goa Assembly. The BJP had 20 MLAs, but their number has now increased to 28. The party also had the support of two MGP MLAs and three Independents.
Hence the strength of the saffron party has gone up to 33 and the Congress has been reduced to three. While 33 seats in the Assembly will be occupied by the ruling party and its allies, seven seats are left for the Opposition, including three of the Congress, two AAP, one Goa Forward Party and one Revolutionary Goans Party.
The situation in Goa Assembly is such that Congress even doesn't have enough numbers to claim the leader of opposition post, which requires at least four MLAs.
The Congress has been alleging that the BJP is trying to make an 'Opposition Free India' with the help of defections, but there seem to be fewer people listening to what's left of the party.