>From today;s (March 7) OHeraldop. ---
Anatomy of the Alemao EUGENE CORREIA The downfall of the Alemaos in the election will go down as a landmark event in Goa’s electoral history. During the run-up to the election and in the waiting period before the day of results, different scenarios were painted in the print and TV media and in political circles. Very few expected Churchill and Joaquim to lose and the performance of Valanka and Yuri was looked with keen interest. At least for a short period if not the full term of the new Government, the Alemaos would do well for themselves if they take a respite. They need the time away from the heat – and humiliation – of the voters’ anger against them and also to lick their wounds. It is not that Churchill hasn’t tasted defeat before. At the same time, he has scored big victories at the parliamentary and state levels, defeating Eduardo Faleiro to take a seat in parliament in 1996 and then dismissing Luizinho Faleiro, a friend-turned-foe on the latter’s happy hunting ground, Navelim, in the Assembly election. The Navelim contest was hailed as the Battle of the Kumpars (as Luizinho is godfather of Churchill’s son). The defeat of the Alemaos is partly because of the BJP wave and partly because of the angst against Joaquim and Churchill’s arrogant defence of the “family raj” politics and their arm-twisting tactics that led to Congress giving ticket to Valanka. The couple of incidents during the run-up, such as the British MP, Keith Vaz, making a pit-stop at a Valanka campaign meeting, Valanka’s threat against a journalist who runs a website, and the allegation of Churchill against Digambar Kamat, saying that the latter who working for Churchill’s defeat, the Yuri ticket compromise with the NCP, definitely shook the voters’ confidence and trust. It would have been best for Churchill to have passed on the baton to his daughter and quietly walked into the sunset. Doing that would go against the grain of Churchill’s character. He is a fighter and has shown how he has bounced back with more vigour and more vitality. Even if he is now forced into the shadows, Churchill’s presence will continue to loom large on the scene in Salcete. Except for his voters and supporters, Goans, by and large, will not shed many tears for the defeat of this family. The family’s rise in politics is a story of both good and bad, of reaching out to the poor and of abusing authority through money and muscle power. Churchill’s long innings in politics, being an MP twice and CM once, and a MLA for many terms, seems a story of make-believe but very much true. Don’t write finish to the family’s role in politics. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------