Panaji: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the Assembly elections in Goa and with that, the hardest fall came for the Alemao family. All four members of the family lost their seats including Goa ministers Churchill and Joaquim.
In fact, seven of 12 'family' candidates fielded by the Congress were trounced as Goa rejected family raj.
Goa PWD minister Churchill Alemao, his brother and urban development minister Joaquim Alemao, Churchill's daughter Valanka and Joaquim's son Yuri, all four members of the powerful Alemao family trounced in the 2012 Assembly elections. Ironically, the owner of the popular Churchill brothers football club was defeated by a former footballer Avertano Furtado.
Joaquim Alemao said, "I don't care anything you say about family raj. My son lost by 200 votes. This is a wave that came. I have done so much work."
Goa Home Minister Ravi Naik, too, was sent home along with his son Ritesh. Babush Monserrate, his wife Jennifer, veteran Congress leader Pratap Singh Rane and his son Vishwajeet managed to pull through, but seven of the 12 'family' candidates put up by the Congress and NCP combine lost.
Social Activist Dr Oscar Rebello said, "You could call it anger against the family, against the Congress or corruption, but it's essentially that the Congress was mocking the people on the very issues that they were agitating. People were not prepared to be taken for a ride once again."
It is known as one of the most laidback states of the country but it's the state that came out in large numbers to outrightly reject the family raj thrust upon it by the Congress. The party maintained that the winnability of candidates was the criterion used to distribute the family tickets but clearly after the drubbing it has received, the party will have to go back to the drawing board to figure its future strategy for Goa.
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