JOIN USEven as the debate rages on dynasty politics in India, a research paper, using Goa's political economy as context, has argued that political dynasties help nurture powerful, self-serving networks involving politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists.
The research paper authored by Parag Parobo, an associate professor at the Goa University and published in the latest edition of 'Studies in Indian Politics' published by Sage Journals, has examined the phenomenon of 'family raj' since the coastal state's liberation in 1961, while also analysing the powerful Goan political clans, namely the Alemao and the Rane families, as case studies.
The phenomenon of family raj peaked in the 2012 state assembly elections, when 18 candidates from nine political families contested the election to the 40-member state assembly. Most of them, including all four candidates from the Alemao clan lost, while many claimed that the phenomenon of family raj in Goa had finally come to an end.
The research paper argues otherwise.
"These results are often regarded as Goa’s rejection of family raj. However, the problem with this simplistic view of the ‘end of family raj’ is that it fails to acknowledge the changing nature of family raj. While before the 1990s, family raj largely functioned to establish a secure hold over political parties, after the liberalisation of the Indian economy in the 1990s a complex network has emerged whose economic interests are maintained by having particular families in power," Parobo says.
In the 2017 elections, nine political families fielded 16 candidates and at least one family member won from each of the nine families, irrespective of their party affiliation.
From 1963 to 1989, there were only two legislators with ‘dynastic ties’ in state politics, while since 1990, there have been 23. The research paper connects the dots that make up powerful networks, which fund political dynasties as well as feed off them.
"Successful political dynasties are those that have the ability to maintain, serve and expand these networks, consisting of a whole range of actors from bureaucrats to a variety of industrial players. As elections have become a high-stake games, dynasties serve as an insurance for the prominent families. It has become a medium to sustain these networks and avoid immediate disruptions," the paper says.
"The networks are crucial for financing elections, while the political family extends its vote base through creating and managing employment opportunities. It is not uncommon to witness dynastic politicians defecting to protect their interests," it adds.
The paper also examines the role of the Alemaos, which includes former chief minister Churchill Alemao, his daughter Valanka, his brother Joaquim and nephew Yuri and ex-CM Pratapsing Rane and his son Vishwajit, in the context of family raj.
The clan's patriarch Churchill, Parobo argues, has hopped parties multiple times and has been linked to popular movements as well as trawler, real estate and casino lobbies and booked in several cases included smuggling contraband, but continues to win elections not just because of his accessibility, but also due to backing of business networks, which in turn back members of his clan during elections.
"Networks with businesses constitute the fundamental basis for political careers. They are also crucial for politicians from royal families," Parobo says.
Pratapsingh Rane, the author says, had successfully wedded himself to lobbies in his long career as a politician, and observes that the Congress leader's rise in politics coincides with the rise in specific business lobbies in the state.
"The formidable position of the Ranes in Goan politics was the result of their alleged networked contexts with mining, real estate and tourism companies. Pratapsingh’s tenures as the CM from 1994 to 1999 and from 2005 to 2007 were noteworthy for the grant of offshore casino licences, rapidly escalating land prices, distribution of land to favoured companies within the SEZs, excessive mining and formulation of the Regional Plan 2011," the research paper states.