The Works

| 2002 |

Poll-ywood icons find time for Goa polls

Come elections and come tourists of a different kind.

Over the past two weeks, Goans have been treated to a wide spectrum of at least 21 politicial bigwigs, both from neighbouring states and from all over the country.

As many as seven union ministers, four chief ministers, five former union ministers, besides scores of national party leaders flocked to the tiny state of Goa, in a bid to boost their party’s image in the Assembly elections on Thursday.

The union ministers to have visited Goa were Home Minister L K Advani, Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan, Law Minister Arun Jaitley, Information Minister Sushma Swaraj, Minister for Rural Development Venkaiah Naidu, Civil Aviation Minister Shah Nawaz Hussain and Union State Minister for Textiles Dhananjay Kumar.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishna, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilsarao Deshmukh, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal were heads of some states who stepped in to bolster their respective parties.

Besides Congress president Sonia Gandhi, AICC general secretary Kamal Nath and AICC general secretary Ambika Soni also represented the Congress party in Goa.

The former union ministers who also left their mark in the State included Sharad Pawar, Margaret Alva, Subodh Kant Sahay, Jagdish Tytler and Manmohan Singh.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma too joined the political bandwagon, as he sought to convince voters in Goa to elect the NCP candidates.

Such was the presence of union ministers, that Rajya Sabha MP and AICC general secretary Ambika Soni expressed concern that the ministers were not in Delhi, but were mostly seen in Goa.

“In fact, the entire government of India is stationed in Goa,” remarked Soni, while speaking to reporters at a recent press conference.

Leaders of national parties added sparkle to the political campaign, as they travelled the length and breadth of the State, delivering speeches to strengthen the prospects of their party’s candidate, till the very last minute of the campaigning period, which ended last evening.

For a large number of voters, the presence of national leaders in Goa was welcomed with a sense of awe and happiness.

“This is the first time we have got an opportunity to see Sonia Gandhi in flesh and blood. So far, we have only been seeing her on television,” commented some excited Congress supporters, as they rushed to attend the Congress rally at Campal-Panjim, which was held on May 23.

Yeshwant Gawas, an advocate from Valpoi, felt that the presence of national leaders in Goa would enable them to be acquainted with local problems.

“This can be of great help in resolving the problems at the Central level. If any question regarding Goa is asked in parliament, these leaders will be in a better position to answer them,” remarked Gawas.

Gawas also felt that it was a great opportunity for the common man to interact with the leaders at the highest level.

“Besides pinpointing shortcomings, voters can boldly put up queries and suggestions directly at the national leader. Apart from elections, this is simply not possible. Forget about meeting the national leaders in New Delhi, the common man may not be in a position to even travel to New Delhi.”

However, the presence of national leaders have not excited all voters and some feel that their presence will hardly make any difference to the outcome of the polls.

“Even though the Congress brought Sonia Gandhi to Goa and even if the BJP were to send Prime Minister Vajpayee, it would not change the mind of the Goan voter. This is because Goans have been witnessing individual-based politics and not party-based politics,” remarks Nilima Mandrekar, a teacher from Korgao in Pernem.

“At one time,” Mandrekar added, “teachers would contest elections. Now, money lenders are in the fray. In such cases, speeches by national leaders will hardly have any impact on the minds of the Goan voters.”

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