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A compromise in Goa

With supporters of the outgoing Goa Chief Minister, Pratapsinh Rane, and the loyalists of State party chief, Ravi Naik, dividing the State legislature unit of the Congress down the middle, senior party leader Digambar Kamat emerged as the compromise candidate for the post of Chief Minister. As neither of the faction leaders had the requisite support, the best Mr. Rane and Mr. Naik could do was to deny each other the chance to head the new government. But compromises are always short-term solutions. Mr. Kamat is bound to have a tough time catering to the interests and demands of the two dominant factions. Given the fractured mandate, the government can be brought down by a couple of disgruntled supporters of the ruling combine. Mr. Kamat himself is no stranger to the power of change lying in the hands of a few. Two years ago, when he left the Bharatiya Janata Party to rejoin the Congress, he played a key role in pulling down the BJP government led by Manohar Parikkar. If he is not to find himself in the same situation as Mr. Parikkar did in 2005, he will have to please not only the two major factions, but also the allies of the party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. There is little possibility of expanding the alliance to include the Save Goa Front led by breakaway Congress leader Churchill Alemao, as sections within the Congress are opposed to such a tie-up. The room for manoeuvre is thus very limited and there is no alternative to retaining the alliance in its present shape and size.

Although not identified with either faction, Mr. Kamat is seen as having swung the decision in his favour by enlisting the support of the Rane camp. With Mr. Naik included as an important member of his cabinet, Mr. Kamat has a great deal of tightrope walking to do. The first signs of unrest will doubtless show up when the next cabinet expansion takes place. With four Ministers, including Mr. Kamat, having been sworn in, there are only eight more berths left, and almost every one of the newly elected members of the ruling combine will expect to be accommodated in the cabinet. As Chief Minister, Mr. Kamat will also have to learn to sidestep controversies of the type set off by the previous Rane government through the Regional Plan for 2011. He will need to put forth a vision for sustainable development that over the long-term enhances Goa's traditional strengths in tourism without causing damage to the environment.

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