What is happening today is not and would never be acceptable by any decent elector who belongs to a civilized society where good democracy prevails. Politics in the Mauritian context is always based on communalism and castes that defeat the whole purpose of living in a plural society. Either we are grown up enough to understand and criticize what is taking place around us or we take it for granted that communalism and racism are part and parcel of our society. Are we strong enough to condemn any shape or form of communalism or are we deliberately condoning it? So here we have a group of MSM dissidents, after conspiring, scheming, planning, and organizing themselves, decided to abandon their political party to found a new one. Should the new party take a communal and a sectarian dimension, Ramgolam?s acceptance to work with them becomes a serious miscalculation and may even lead to political disturbance, frustrating his own diehards and other members of his executives.

When one examines the characters and personalities of most of the members forming part of this new party, it gives us the creeps. For instance one of them had brushes with the law and his case was only written off on a point of law. Another one was the subject of an enquiry by ICAC on taxi permits while his ex- press attaché is the subject of a court hearing for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs10,000. And yet this party is soliciting the Labour party for an alliance with the latter. So far Navin Ramgoolam has said that if such a party officially applies to join labour, he will consider it.

If Ramgoolam claims that his party is strong enough to win this forthcoming general election of 2005, why should he contemplate an alliance with the new party? He would commit a major mistake by taking on board this new political party where most of its members are well known and often seen participating in their religious socio-cultural functions to promote their images. Besides, Mr Ramgoolam would face internal problems within his party. Already two or three members of its executives have made it clear in a nocturnal meeting that they would tender their resignations should the new Baichoo party try to ally with Labour. How many more political satellites does the labour party have around its structure?

The motive of Ramgoolam is by hook or by crook to find a way to destroy a properly elected government, which so far has proved itself as a competent one without any blame of racism and communalism. So his whole objective is to use the new political party by using the communal card to win the 2005 general election. Ramgoolam knows that the MMM-MSM government has made its mark in so far as developing the country and bringing national unity. Unable to stand the change and new face of the country, he chooses the right moment to give his blessing to the new political party consisting of ex-MSM dissidents in order to wipe the MSM off the map. By so doing, he is destroying the fundamental values of the history of his own party should he choose to rub shoulders with the likes of Baichoo, Ramjuttun and Choonee. Come what may, let us not misjudge the electors, as they are not as stupid as the leader of the Labour party thinks.

On the other hand, the Labour party may suffer the same fate of dissidence because opportunists are trying to get their own way and surpass those who have been laboriously toiling to make the labour party what it is today. Ramgoolam should exercise caution in dealing with opportunists and should not let down his own diehards. Does Navin Ramgoolam care for the ideology of his party, if ever such a party has one ?. Let us not forget that those opportunists may have deserted their own party and many other parties in the past only for their own interests, not for the interest of country and people.

An intelligent voter gives strong value to his vote and hates to waste it on any Tom , Dick and Harry who tries to be better in words than actions. He knows the difference between competence and indolence, progress and regress, efficiency and dormancy, hard workers and wastrels and patriotism and extremism.

There was a time when many people of this country struggled to get the right to vote, because they considered it as a tool to participate in government decisions. They were proud to do their civic duties and those were the days when voting meant voting with a clear conscience without any form of bribery and corruption involved. Today voting is different because many electors are hooked with bribes and promises. This is why the government wants to change the electoral system.

Today the majority of people are living peacefully and have better homes and environment than before. Mauritius is living up to the standard of many developed countries of the world. As time goes by, little by little we are noticing that exclusion and poverty are gradually fading away thanks to the national unity that we live under. Let us not spoil it now .