On Twitter, Amit Palekar describes himself as “a lawyer with passion for social work and travel”, and proclaims that his “life is dedicated for the service of mankind. We will keep fighting the powers; destroying Goa (sic)”.
There’s an unwanted semi-colon in the self-descriptor but one could forgive the typo of a seasoned lawyer and activist who is now the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP's) chief ministerial candidate in Goa.
In electoral circles, not many are talking of his mettle as a criminal/civil lawyer; it is his activism and caste that is drumming up excitement. During the second wave of Covid-19, Palekar was at the forefront, providing/arranging for oxygen cylinders for those who needed them.
A little earlier he had sat on a five-day fast to protest the construction of an allegedly illegal structure in Old Goa that triggered a massive citizen-driven protest at the heritage site. The government had to bow, and the world noticed Palekar.
But the jury is out on whether Palekar has been rewarded for his activism or is there a caste twist to the candidature. Palekar belongs to the numerically large Bhandari community that accounts for nearly 30% of the state’s population. In 60 years since liberation, Goa has had only one Bhandari chief minister - Ravi Naik - who ruled for two and half years in the early 1990s.
Why the need to take a political plunge? I asked Palekar in the midst of his hectic campaign schedule in St Cruz constituency.
“It is about hope, it is about cleansing the system from within before the state is completely destroyed by the powers that are. Goa has one of the largest per capita spending in the country but the state debt has soared to Rs 24,00o crore. That way, every Goan is heavily in debt because the incumbent governments have not used the resources well. There’s corruption, there are no job opportunities, the ease of business index is at its lowest. And within the scenario, if people like us don’t enter the system, how will it get cleansed? My sole intent is to cleanse Goa, a paradise that been lost,” Palekar, who is fluent in Konkani, English, Hindi and Marathi, said.
Palekar is a new entrant to the AAP fraternity; he only joined the political party in October 2021. Was he then named the chief ministerial candidate because of the community he belongs to?
“No, caste is not the reason. But I do want to correct the politics over caste by other parties. I happen to be a Bhandari but a political leader, an elected representative, works for the betterment of all,” said Palekar, who holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology and a master’s in Constitutional Law and Intellectual Property Rights from Goa University.
Terming it the Goa model, AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal has laid out a 13-point agenda for the state. The promises are many, the freebies endless: free electricity of up to 300 units, free education, free water supply, uninterrupted power supply, free medical services to all, good roads and Rs 1,000 per month allowance to every woman above 18 years of age. It is unclear if these are tenable.
The agenda for the Goa model also promises resolution of farmers' problems and the issues concerning land rights, resumption of mining activities within six months of coming to power, jobs for all and Rs 3,000 per month dole for the unemployed.
Constitutionally, India is a welfare state but are these freebies really tenable/doable? I asked Palekar.
“If MLAs and MPs can get free water, free electricity, free car, free fuel, why can’t citizens also get free facilities? Think of it, it is not really free, it is actually a more appropriate distribution of the exchequer’s resources. Every citizen deserves a better life. Because governments have ignored the masses, Goans often are compelled to leave the state/country for better opportunities,” Palekar said.
AAP’s optimism is in stark contrast to its performance in the 2017 Goa assembly election. The party had fielded its candidates in 39 of the 40 seats and got 6.27% (57,420) votes. But the results were dismal. Forget winning a seat, all AAP candidates (except one) lost their deposits.
When I questioned Palekar about AAP’s prospects in the forthcoming elections, he attributed the party’s 2017 rout to ‘unpreparedness’. He reiterated that since 2017, AAP never left Goa. The party created a cadre, mapped its plans for the people and during the Covid crisis, Palekar said, it was AAP members who lent a helping hand.
I’ll weed out corruption within 24 hours, Palekar had proclaimed in an earlier interview.
How? I asked.
“You have to start somewhere. Once things are straightened at one level, it will have a trickle-down effect and ultimately the system will get cleansed,” Palekar said.
“If I sit on the chief minister’s chair, honesty will be the first tenet of my agenda. Honesty in all its varied connotation. AAP is the only honest party and it is honesty that will bring back the glory that Goa was,” he said as a parting promise before returning to campaigning.
At the time of writing, Amit Palekar had 5,123 followers on Twitter. He certainly would require several thousands more in the polling booth to win his first political battle.
Also read: Goa Assembly Polls 2022 | AAP, TMC muddy the waters for Congress further
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