Small & footloose: Netas’ shifting party loyalties in Manipur and Goa are poor advertisements for democracy

Among the surprises of 2017 assembly elections was the ease with which BJP formed governments in Manipur and Goa though Congress was the single largest party in both states. Congress was stranded at 28 in Manipur’s 60-member and 17 in Goa’s 40-member assemblies while BJP followed at 21 in Manipur and 13 in Goa. As the Congress high command waffled, BJP’s central leaders struck overnight alliances with GFP and MGP in Goa and NPP, NPF and LJP in Manipur to form governments.

Both Manipur and Goa aren’t strangers to short-lived ministries and defections. Small assembly sizes and fragmented political fields make it easier to woo deserters and change governments. BJP, this time, is going to voters with governments that lasted the entire term. But it is at a profound disadvantage in Goa, missing Manohar Parrikar, who could woo the sizeable Christian vote. Yet the crowded opposition space with AAP and TMC hurting Congress’s Goa dreams could end up splitting the anti-incumbency vote. In Manipur, Congress is the primary opposition but the steady exodus of its MLAs to BJP hasn’t helped.

These frequent defections are certainly not a good sign for democracy. It is a vibrant opposition that keeps a government on its toes. Post-poll realignments by small regional parties and defections by individual MLAs have little to do with voters’ choices. The price of a defector in the post-poll political market is the main motivator. Interestingly and revealingly, the two national parties in Manipur and Goa and competing regional parties aren’t aggressively pitching for alliances. They are perhaps relying on the history of the two states where pre-poll enemies quickly become post-poll allies. But voters are clearly at a disadvantage here in deciding who to vote for. With ticket seekers and weathervanes continuing to change sides even after EC’s election date announcement, opportunity and not principled ideological positions or fear of voters remains the main poll theme in these states.