As expected the Manohar Parrikar government in Goa was able to prove its majority on Thursday, March 16, following a Supreme Court directive. Once the Governor had decided to invite the former Defence Minister, Parrikar to form the government, even though the Congress had emerged as the largest party, the dice got loaded in favor of the BJP.
In the end, the BJP with just 13 MLAs in a house of 40 managed to conjure up a slate of 22 legislators for voting in favor of chief minister Parrikar. The vote and the outcome are in perfect harmony with the Goan political culture of smaller parties and independents making themselves available for the highest bidder.
As the BJP is politically ascendant nationally and is flush with resources and imbued with resourcefulness, there was little doubt about its ability to win this round in Goa. Even before the final vote on Thursday, the Congress was making allegations of money changing hands.
It is the irony of our times that the winner not only gets to write the history but also re-writes the norms; it would be seen as cussedness to point out the ethical dimension of the denouement: the BJP was in power and it lost the majority in the election, ending up with only 13 MLAs yet storming its way back into power. Most curious and inexplicable is the case of all the three MLAs, belonging to the Goa Forward Party, siding with the BJP; in disgust, the GFP president, Professor Prabhakar Timble resigned from the party, accusing the BJP of inflicting a ‘political mafia raj’. So be it. The BJP’s cocky leadership would have the satisfaction of having one more state government under its belt.
Within days all the righteous anger about a ‘stolen government’ would subside. No one should be surprised if some of the Congress MLAs end up crossing over to the winning side. Goa would return to its happy and carefree habits and preferences. Above all, Manohar Parrikar’s exile in Delhi ends. Goa gets a chief minister it deserves and the country will, hopefully, get a defence minister it badly deserves.