The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Sunday with Elvis Gomes: church, office and pitch for honesty
IT IS around 8 am on Sunday. The lanes around AAP’S Goa chief ministerial candidate Elvis Gomes’s residence in Cuncolim are quiet before a hectic day of campaigning. Gomes started his day at Our Lady of Piety Chapel, where the election was the theme at the Eucharistic Service. An advisory highlighting the government’s role in forced patriotism, demonetisation and changes in the education policy was left for the faithful to read.
"The guidelines are clear that they are rooting for honest, transparent candidates. When they talk about such candidates, they are available only in AAP," says Gomes, a former bureaucrat who sought voluntary retirement in September after the BJP government allegedly sidelined him.
Christians account for over 25 per cent of the electorate. They are concentrated in South Goa, where constituencies like Gomes’s Cuncolim are predominantly Christian. The Church issues a statement before every election. It had spoken strongly against corruption ahead of the 2012 election, when the incumbent government was of the Congress.
On the last Sunday before the election, Gomes heads home for a quick breakfast, then rushes to his election office. Volunteers greet Gomes and show him former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav’s tweet praising him. “AAP Goa retains some original flavour: Honest CM nominee, cleaner candidates than rest. Tough issues like mining, casino. Hope it does well!” Yadav is otherwise critical of AAP.
Gomes leaves for Balli and Pattem, which is dominated by Catholic STS. Volunteers feel there is a need to push the party’s message in the locality that has traditionally voted for Congress.
Gomes asks people whether they knew which electoral symbol they need to look for. "Lucky for us, every house has a broom outside. So we just have to point it out to them and remind them: You sweep your house daily, now it is time to sweep Goa clean," says Gomes’s son, Aaron.
In Pattem, Gomes notes that convincing men is difficult. "Many fathers have died young here due to alcohol abuse. Money is still a factor, but women understand... they want a better future for their children," says Gomes.
AAP teams split into two for door-to-door campaigning. Gomes and a few others spend some time with voters while another set of volunteers stays back to explain AAP’S promises. They hands out a card. "It is an assurance card that all our promises will be kept. Other parties have not fulfilled the promises they have made and therefore the confidence level of people has come down," Gomes explains.
Back in his office around 1.15 pm, Gomes discusses the number of people needed at polling stations. They wonder whether voters make up their minds before coming to polling stations. Lunch is fish curry, rice and chicken xacuti.
Later, Gomes leaves for tribal activist Ramdas Naik’s house, where around 20 women have gathered. "What has the Congress done for you? They keep alternating power with the BJP. We are the only party that has given five tickets to women and four tickets to STS," Gomes tells the audience while highlighting key aspects of the party’s manifesto, much of which are similar to AAP’S policies in Delhi.
There is a sense of uncertainty among voters. "We know Elvis is a good candidate... we have heard a lot about his work in the government. But can AAP stop the BJP from coming to power?" says Maria D’souza.