Can a state notorious for its self-seeking politicians who have provided case law for the Anti-Defection Act hope for a decisive verdict from Tuesday’s results?
   Trends for all 40 seats will be known by noon on Tuesday. Both the Congress-NCP and the Bharatiya Janata Party are in the race for the crucial 21 seats that would vest them with power without further political hobnobbing.
   In 2002, the Bharatiya Janata Party had emerged the single largest party with 17 seats, four short of a majority.
   Its tie-up with the United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) kept the government shaky till its collapse in early 2005 and the emergence of a Congress-led coalition.
   A crucial difference in this election was the pre-poll tie-up between the Congress and the NCP.
   But the emergence of the JD(S) which has cut into the Congress votes in migrant settlements, and the backdoor pact between the BJP and the Congress rebels in the Save Goa Front, has confounded predictions all the more.
Whimsical
   Goa’s roster of chief ministers is testimony to the whimsical and opportunistic nature of its politicians. Fifteen chief ministers have come and gone in quick succession in this state in the last 17 years. Tuesday’s result will produce the 16th since 1990.