SOME TIPS FOR CANDIDATES CONTESTING THE 2012 GOA ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS by Adv. Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar

In less than a year Goa will go to the polls to elect 40 members to the Goa Legislative Assembly. Many aspirants must have already started the spade work. But all that is done in the last few months before the polls has all that extra impact.

It you are to win and especially contesting for the first time you would have to ensure that you go out of the way to lure your voters. Today there are no principles and ethics in elections. The voters have become as shabby as the political game has transformed into. Today for an assembly constituency you need to be spending at least five crores to have a reasonable chance of winning. That’s how low Goa’s voters and Goan politics has stooped.

It is very important till polling day to ensure that you rise early. Your doors and windows should be ready and open for the public at sunrise. Even if you have never smiled you would have do so and put a brave show. It any way costs you nothing to say “Hello” and ‘Good morning”. Always expect some extra people for breakfast and quite a few for lunch and dinner. At Churchill Alemao’s residence there are regularly over 100 extra mouths to feed at lunch. From where all that food comes is a different question. Make sure you stock enough alcohol to keep the spirits of your voters and workers high.

It is time to organize the Mahila Mandals in every ward of your constituency. If you keep them happy the results will be there to see on counting day. You would have to start sending your voters on pilgrimages to Shirdi, Vailankanni or wherever they wish to go on a jaunt.

Candidates would also have to get going on organizing all sorts of tournaments over the next twelve months to keep the youth in good cheers. Every festival will have to be celebrated in style. We will first have Ganesh, followed by Narkasur, Diwali, Christmas, New Year, Carnival and Easter before elections 2012. And of course the Id and Moharrum cannot be ignored by any candidate at least this time. Every church, chapel and temple feast will have to be celebrated in style. This year we can expect a record number of sponsored Narkasurs and

Christmas trees all over.

Some candidates may also have to start paying the electricity, water and telephone bills of their voters. Do not be surprised if medical and other bills are also stacked on you. Try and stand around wherever new roads are being tarred or drains are being laid. It does help sometimes as some voters get fooled thinking that you have managed to get the works approved.

From now to polling day candidates will have a hectic scheduled attending baptisms, first holy communions, weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, house inaugurations and funerals. You cannot afford to miss any. Today some of the voters have become so smart that they somehow expect and manage to get the candidates to sponsor the whole if not a part of the expenses of these functions.

For heaven’s sake do not borrow money to contest elections. If you win you will be able to recover and payback but if you loose it could be a nightmare. Goa is already having a high suicide rate. Don’t add to it.

To all prospective candidates, till the last vote is cast maintain your cool. Don’t ever lift your hand or raise your voice. Keep your nerves in place. And like our Education Minister Babush Monseratte do not carry credit or debit cards. Hard cash in different denominations in your pocket all the time. The more of it the better your chances.

Till polling day candidates should avoid any F.I.R being registered against them. Assign all the work of distributing cash and goodies to your henchmen. Don’t be caught on the wrong side of the law. Try and keep away from major and minor vices till the polls are over. And if you have a weakness for women, keep a safe distance from them. A case of molestation, outraging the modesty or attempt to rape is something you could do without at election time.

At the end of the polling you should be able to have a feel whether you are still in the race. If you feel you have gone for a toss there is no point getting up early on counting day. You can swallow an extra tablet of compose and just sleep it out. Get up late and over breakfast watch the results over television. Cheer yourself by saying better luck next time around and just hit the bottle to chill out.

I contested assembly elections 25 years ago from St Andre constituency as an independent candidate and was fortunate to get a 1004 votes. In those days we had volunteers to work for the election campaign for free. Today elections have become a business with everyone and everything having to be paid for. The voters also know that they will only be able to next squeeze their MLA in five years so they milk the cow as deep as it can get.