Captain employs Navy experience to navigate rough tides of campaigning

With 26 years under his belt in the Navy, Viriato Fernandes is hoping to use his skills and activism streak to secure the South

It’s May Day, but the public holiday hasn’t stopped people in the quaint village of Amona, Quepem, from gathering outside a village tinto on a lazy summer morning.

Minutes later, the theme of the Congress campaign ‘Jeetega Bharat, Judega INDIA’ is heard from a distance. The ‘captain’ and his cavalcade are here.

Viriato Fernandes retired after 26 years in the Indian Navy as a Captain, and after a stint in social activism, plunged into politics. He is now contesting as a Congress candidate to take on BJP’s Pallavi Dempo. The Captain tag has stuck, and he loves it. After all, he views his current political battle as an extension of his service to the motherland.

“I have given 26 years of my life to the Navy and served my country,” Viriato tells the motley crew outside the tinto. “I promise that if you elect me, I will dedicate the next five years to save Goa.”

Chauffeuring the Captain on his campaign is one of his comrades from his social activism days. He wears no party scarf or anything to identify him as a Congressman, yet he is a staunch Captain loyalist. He pleads for anonymity and is careful to stay beyond the range of a photographer’s lens. “I have no love lost for Congress. But I have enough faith in Captain’s sincerity, dedication, and passion, that I have decided to spare my time and energy for his campaign,” he says with a sense of duty towards the cause of Goa. He and several other activists, apart from Congress functionaries, comprise Viriato’s communications team. “They have nothing to do with Congress. Yet they accompany me on my campaign trail out of their selfless love for Goa,” Viriato tells TOI

. “They are convinced that the May 7 election will determine the course of Goa’s future, and not just Viriato’s or Congress.”

After the meeting is over, he hops into his vehicle that takes him to Pedadeg, a small hamlet in Shirvoi, home to several families of kumbhars (potters) and those engaged in traditional occupations. After paying obeisance to the guardian deity at Rakhandar Vatareshwar Devasthan, Viriato addresses a small gathering outside the temple. Aware that this section has no political leanings, Viriato cautions them against falling prey to any pressures from BJP.

“This is your last chance to save Goa. If BJP forms govt yet again, it will take no time for them to destroy this pristine beauty of your village that was bequeathed to us by our ancestors. We need to preserve this for posterity. This election will decide the future of these children,” he says, pointing to the tiny tots listening with rapt attention. Having tugged at their heartstrings, Viriato proceeds to invoke the Rakhandar and pledges to give his next five years to Goa, “the way I gave 26 years serving the country”.

He peppers his address with a dose of secularism, too, and lashes out at politicians for spreading the venom of communalism. “When soldiers fight on the borders, the bullet fired from China or Pakistan doesn’t recognise you as a Hindu, Christian or Muslim. For the bullet, its target is the Indian soldier,” he says. “I survived Kargil. I am now on a mission to save Goa.” This earns him claps and cheers, Viriato knows he has made his point.

Morpirla, a remote tribal village, is the next stop. Enroute, he briefly stops at the Shree Shantadurga Fatarpekarin temple where the purohit offers prayers for his success. It’s well past dusk before Viriato and his team reach their destination. Here, a group of youngsters have been waiting to greet him. Quepem MLA Altone D’Costa nudges Viriato to curtail his speeches for the remainder of the corner meetings – there are quite a few lined up still. They have to make it to the public meeting at Cortalim, 30km away. After a firm handshake with the boys, D’Costa reminds them about Priyanka Gandhi’s visit to the village ahead of the March 2022 assembly polls. “Do you remember the date Priyanka came to your village?” Viriato asks the boys. With no answer forthcoming, Viriato says. “It was Dec 10, 2021. I know because I was involved in planning her Goa visit. Dec 4 was chosen earlier but as it happened to be Navy Day, it was postponed to Dec 10.” The emphasis on the Priyanka connection and his Navy background has already struck a chord with the boys.

Viriato had joined Congress the same day in Priyanka’s presence at a function held in Chicalim.

Viriato is careful not to make any statements referring to BJP’s counter-offensive against him for “disrespecting the Constitution”, cognizance of which was taken by the Prime Minister, too. So, has it dented his campaign? “Zero,” says Viriato.

Just then an elderly woman walks up to him with a plate of hot pakodas. Visibly touched by the gesture, Viriato says, “The smear campaign has backfired. The love and warmth with which people have been welcoming me in the villages is overwhelming.”

As he relishes his evening snack, Viriato turns pensive. “This sense of affection and belonging is the ethos of Goemkarponn. We need to preserve it at all costs.”