Forty-eight-year-old Luizinho Faleiro takes over as Goa's Chief Minister for a second time. Mr Faleiro headed a Congress government for a short three months in the last term before its collapse on February 9 this year, which led to the imposition of President's rule and the June 4 poll. Appointed Pradesh Congress Committee chief specifically to lead the party to the poll, the Congress victory has catapulted Mr Faleiro to the number one slot again. Given the Goa Congress' reputation for discord within, the new chief minister failed to achieve the unanimous backing of the CLP, which could give him some rough moments in the future. The AICC, however, threw its weight behind his elevation.

A lawyer and trade union leader in his younger days, Goa's Chief Minister has come a long way to turn the tables on his one-time political mentor, the rebel GRC leader Wilfred De Souza. A close ally of Mr Pratapsing Rane at one time, Mr Faleiro appears to have overtaken the former Chief Minister in the race for control of the Congress party in Goa.

Mr Faleiro spoke to DEVIKA SEQUEIRA about the Congress victory even as he fielded questions about the vulnerability of his present government.

Excerpts:

Q: Mr Madhavrao Scindia has already made it clear that the AICC would not tolerate dissent anymore. But some of your MLAs have openly expressed their displeasure at being left out of the ministry. How will you handle this?

A: To have aspirations to become ministers is absolutely natural. Many of them have been ministers earlier and they are quite senior members of the House. But I foresee no problem because this time the Congress Party is solidly united and they are also aware that the people of Goa will not tolerate any defections or floor crossing because there is greater public awareness and resentment. The people of this state deserve better behaviour from their elected representatives. It is also the popular aspiration of Goa that there should be a stable government. Besides, every political party has made it a point to include in their manifestos that they will not abet or promote or encourage defections by other political parties.

Q: But given the history of defections in this state and considering your fragile majority, your position looks extremely vulnerable.

A: I could by now have had the total support of the smaller regional party MLAs either through their merger or split. But since I was involved in the preparation of the manifesto myself, am committed to ensure this time there will be no floor crossing from other parties. While appealing to secular forces and like-minded parties to support the Congress, I myself have not encouraged them to leave their parties. I know the BJP has included it in their manifesto that they will not be a party to defections or splits. But (Manohar) Parrikar (BJP Opposition leader) recently made a statement that they will welcome anybody from the Congress party to join them.

Q: Are you confident you can hold your MLAs together?

A: It is a collective responsibility, and I presume that every body understands that it is the popular aspiration of the people of Goa that we have a stable government. It is everyone's duty to see to it that the government is stable even if it means sacrificing their interests in becoming ministers.

Q: One of your ministers has said he does not envy you because you will be spending "sleepless nights" with your fragile majority. What is your comment?

A: It is a challenging task. Life is a challenge. You must have courage and determination to win. You must have a dream and vision to plan, and courage and determination to execute your plan.

Q: Expelled Congress leader Sharad Pawar is expected to fish in troubled waters in Goa. He has also claimed credit for the Congress victory here. What is your reaction to this?

A: It is wishful thinking. I strongly deny that he had a role to play in the Congress party's victory in Goa. On the contrary, their (Nationalist Congress Party) last moment betrayal of the Congress Party was a setback for us because it showed disunity in the Congress party. However Mrs Sonia Gandhi's role and her decision to once again lead the Congress was much appreciated by the people of Goa who felt relieved that at last the Congress has an able leader. The majority in our favour after a lapse often years showed that the people of Goa were solidly supporting the Congress party and solidly behind the Congress president. This will in fact be the message and the trend that Congress support is rising not just in Goa, but all over the country.

Q: Were these election results to your expectation?

A: I am rather disappointed with the results. I was honestly expecting 25 seats. In a worst case scenario, I thought we would get 23 seats. Rebellion by Congress candidates and the division of votes affected us. In two or three seats we lost by very small margins as in Quepem, where we lost by 80 votes. People were not carried away by the media propaganda against the Congress. People voted consciously, and if we have fallen short it is not because of the people but because of the rebellion in our party.

Q: The BJP made significant gains increasing their tally from four to 10 seats. Do you think an alliance with the MGP would have helped them?

A: Our division helped them. But no, an alliance would have not helped them. If they had an alliance they would have had to replace either the BJP or MGP candidate and there would have been a revolt. In fact both the parties picked up our rejected candidates. But there will not be any division of votes in the parliamentary election. The Congress vote will be consolidated and we will win both the seats here.

Q: The BJP is obviously replacing the MGP in Goa. Do you think the BJP has gained from this election and do you see them as a threat to you party?

A: The BJP has not gained but lost compared to the last parliamentary election. Their percentage of vote has gone down. There was a BJP wave in Goa last time because of the high expectations the electorate had of Mr Vajpayee. But people have realised after the BJP's 13-month rule that the Congress alone can provide a stable government, revive the country's sagging economy, give the country proper direction and protect our territorial integrity.

Q: What is the significance of MGP leader Ramakant Khalap's statement that he would adopt a "positive approach" to the Congress government?

A: I would say it is a very healthy situation because secular minded forces have to be united. When communal parties are raising their ugly head in Goa it is a matter of concern to everybody that the secular forces come together to arrest the infiltration of communal venom in Goa's body politick.

Q: What was the criteria adopted to select the members of your Cabinet. Are the people included the ones who would have caused you the most trouble?

A: Most of them are ex-chief ministers or senior ministers. They have rich experience in running the government. Even our Speaker, Mr Pratapsing Rane, is an ex-chief minister with 15 years experience. With this kind of experience we will provide a better and more efficient administration.

Q: There has been speculation over Nirmala Sawant being included and Victoria Fernandes being kept out despite her second term in the assembly.

A: Nirmala Sawant held the high post of Pradesh Congress Committee president, which is why she is included in the Cabinet. I have painstakingly selected the team taking into account the geographical considerations and giving representation overall to the different communities in Goa. Given the constraints, I think my selection has been judicious.

Q: You have said your primary concern would be to take the government to the people and also to bring transparency and efficiency to the system. But Congress governments in the past have acquired the image of being corrupt. How do you propose to monitor the performance of your ministers?

A: Why should anyone doubt my intentions and sincerity to provide a clean and transparent government? I have shown in those 70 days before the dissolution of the House that I tried to implement this in spirit and that it was not just an empty slogan, but an article of faith to me.

Q: But previous Congress chief ministers here have been known to overlook corruption in order to survive.

A: For me, today, the election manifesto is very important and I am committed to it. I called the ministers and secretaries and told them that the manifesto is my Bhagwad Gita, my Koran and my Bible, and they have to follow it. I am going to appoint a committee to periodically monitor things to ensure that the manifesto is implemented. So bygones are bygones. Let us create new history.

Courtesy: Deccan Herald