Comparative Ethnography of Goa Legislative Assembly Election 2022

Abstract

Since the first Legislative Assembly Election in December, 1963, the Political Party System in Goa offers fragile ground for defections and non-allegiance. This fragility has developed the political discourse in Goa. The family centric nature of regional parties contributed to the success of National Political Parties. Overemphasis on state politics alienated Goa from India's national politics. Amidst this, dominant interest groups have managed to reinvent the issues of identity in their favour. The scenario before and after the Legislative Assembly Elections in March, 2022 has further fuelled this fragility and unaccountability in the tiny coastal state. In this article, we explore the major areas of electoral politics that have caused this legacy to continue. It presents the case wherein the political decentralisation has failed to initiate cultural decentralisation in the state keeping the aristocratic nature of polity intact.