The Congress has tried unsuccessfully to wipe the egg off its face by levelling an array of allegations against Governors, claiming the use of ‘inducements’ etc, but failed to counter the argument that what the BJP was doing today was no different from what the Congress had done in the past, except that it was outgunned this time. Propriety and morality, alas, have ceased to play a role in political affairs, and to identify who triggered the decline in standards, would prove embarrassing to Rahul Gandhi.
That said, Manohar Parrikar’s return to Goa will benefit the BJP. But heading a coalition Government is a different ball game. The MGP, the GFP and the independent MlAs can be expected to demand their pound of flesh. After an incredibly corrupt tenure of the Congress, Mahohar Parrikar, with his urbane middle-class persona, had bolstered the BJP’s political capital. The going will be tough, and it remains to be seen how he survives a full five-year-tenure, while keeping his flock. But then, he fhas experience of such matters and fully understands the politics of Goa.