Goans love new things. New cars, brands, ideas. Despite being insulated from rest of India, its colonial legacy exposed it to Europe and the West more hence the people always enjoyed new fads. No wonder then that in 2000s when Manohar Parrikar sold the concept of making Singapore out of Goa, everybody’s eyes shone. Till a rogue Regional Plan, made them see red that it was all a state sponsored real estate scam. Likewise, is Goa’s politics.

So, when TMC makes another bid to re-enter Goa in 2022, a decade after it tried its maiden bid flopped miserably – the excitement is palpable. The same excitement saw AAP being welcomed in 2017. The same excitement saw homegrown Goa Forward Party in 2017 and Save Goa Front in 2007 arrival on the state scene. Its the same adrenaline rush that is buoying Revolutionary Goans Party and Goencho Avaaz seek to change things in Goa. While prima facie it may look like AAP or TMC repeating their home state sweep in Goa but this is different.

Goan demographics of a higher per capita income unlike Delhi and Bengal. Migrants rule the roost in Delhi while they are welcomed in Bengal, in Goa they are vote banks. Most importantly, much akin to the NRIs celebrating Modi more India itself, all the ball talk of changing Goa is being financed and orchestrated from Goans overseas who are worried about the changing demographics. For the normal everyday Goan, I-PAC / Prashant Kishore shenanigans are a made for telly, David vs Goliath narrative. The real khelahobe happens in the balcaos, dandos, tintos and maands of Goem.

Then there is AAP that targets traditional Congress bastions of Catholic neighbourhoods (unlike migrants back home in Delhi), some thing that GFP and Goencho Avaaz is also aping. TMC’s first fascination seems to be disgruntled, past-their-prime Bhadraloks of Goa – the ageing Congress leaders unable to hold their own seats. The eye is only on the traditional Congress votebanks of Salcette. Nowhere else.

So after BJP, MGP, GFP, AAP; TMC too poaches on Congress the party that liberated, made a state of and allowed Goanness (Goenkarponn), la-Nehruvia ajeeb.