The Trend Of Defection In Goa – The Second Angle

Goa is known for its exotic beaches and tropical spice plantations. This state with a high literacy rate has overtaken Haryana to become the home to a high number of defections. The Association for democratic reforms reports that in the last few years, 67% of members of the 40 seat legislative Assembly have changed their political party. Consequently,  in the view of the upcoming elections, once again Goa is witnessing a series of defections. 

The game of defections in Goa began in March 2017, after the results of the 2017 elections were announced.  The Congress party claimed victory on 17 seats and BJP got 13. Despite fewer numbers,  within 48 hours of the results, Manohar Parrikar resigned from the position of defense Minister. He laid a claim to form the government by an alliance with 2 smaller parties and became the CM of Goa. The two parties were Goa Forward Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.

There are many stories on how the government was formed. Congress’s Digvijay Singh flew down from Delhi and was given the responsibility to manage the post-poll activities. He was ready to hand over the list of MLAs to the governor and form the government.  

However, BJPs Nitin Gadkari was quicker and the early bird won. Also, the GFD that was hostile towards the BJP, joined the government. The leader of GFP, Vijai Sardesai was appointed as the Deputy CM of Goa. 

In between the complex political incident, BJP gained power. Despite opposing circumstances like CM Manohar Parrikar’s death and BJPs attempt to reduce the power of its alliance Party’s influence, it managed to retain it. The Goa Government managed to remain stable during the 5-year term owing to multiple defections. 

The biggest shock to the opposition came in 2019 when 10 Congress MLAs and 2 MLAs from MGP joined the BJP. After the elections were announced this year, Congress reduced from 17MLAs to 2 MLAs. The upcoming polls have reversed the defections and many members are joining Congress, which has indicated that it might not take on defectors.

There are 2 important aspects in this defection- legal and moral. When 10 Congress MLAs joined BJP they sought protection under the anti-defection law. As per the law, if ⅔ of the legislators of a party switch their party, it’s considered a merger, not a defection. So, can ⅔ of the legislators who defect in a single legislator rather than at the national level escape from it? There has been no judgment on the case by the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court until now. Even the Supreme Court did not direct the High Court to dispose of the matter quickly.

The defections in the state expose the inadequacies in the Anti-defection law. The 1985 constitutional amendment was made to prevent the groups of people from destabilizing the government for any kind of dishonest and self-serving reasons. Several political parties and MLAs have continuously exploited the law because the speakers of the Assembly often fail to act with neutrality, which is an important part of the position they hold.

The Association for democratic reforms (ADR) Goa, coordinator Bhaskar Assoldekar terms such behavior as “a reflection of disrespect to voters, smacking with greed and a lack of ethics.” But, it is still not clear whether the voters feel that same betrayal or not. For instance, 3 defecting MLAs in the outgoing Assembly, Vishwajeet Rane, Subhash Shirodkar, and Dayanand Sopte were re-elected in the by-election from their respective constituencies. They had resigned from Congress and contested the polls on a BJP ticket. 

Another disturbing trend is that MLAs and MPs are gradually deprived of their strength by their political parties.  The political parties distribute tickets based on caste affiliations rather than on merit. As a result, several MLAs act as per their will by bringing a refreshing change in the Autocratic party high command culture. 

Some time back, in UP the legislators of the ruling party expressed their helplessness because all the powers lay with the district administration. So, the local legislator was unable to do basic development work even outside her house. In contrast, the political legislators in Goa consider themselves larger than any political party. Its are not a healthy trend in politics.  

A reason for Mamta Banerjee and TMC to contest Goa elections is because she knows she can pick up one or two defecting legislators and win a constituency. However,  there is a certain level of anguish among voters and party workers over this defection. 

Defection has never been a healthy aspect of politics and democracy. These rides of switching sides in Goa can become confusing for the voters. It will be important to note whether the voters will support the defecting MLAs or not. At the same time, it is important to wait for the decision of the High court. The central government and election commission should look into the matter seriously or else the defection would take a more severe form. 

Also Checkout: The Trend of Defection in Goa