The resignation of Manoj Parab from the Revolutionary Goan Party (RGP) once again raises the question of whether electoral politics inevitably become the graveyard of people’s movements. Initially, the Revolutionary Goans movement positioned itself as a defender of Goan identity, land rights, employment concerns, and demographic anxieties. It was a movement powered by sentiment, activism, and grassroots mobilisation. Things changed when it became a political party.
When movements enter electoral politics, they enter a different universe altogether. The anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare in 2011 captured the imagination of an entire country. “India Against Corruption” became a moral uprising against corruption and political arrogance. However, Arvind Kejriwal believed the movement could not achieve change without entering politics. Anna Hazare feared that politics would corrupt the moral authority of the movement. Kejriwal went ahead and founded the Aam Aadmi Party.
AAP achieved what movements rarely do. It captured political power and governed Delhi successfully enough to become a national force. Yet, in the process, the original anti-corruption movement dissolved. Anna Hazare slowly faded from public discourse. Democracies need political parties to convert public demands into policy.
Movements are built on emotion. Movements usually revolve around charismatic moral figures. Parties require organisational machinery. But does politics always kill movements? Not necessarily. Some movements successfully balance activism with political engagement. This requires transparent leadership, internal democracy, and constant engagement with grassroots supporters.
The question that arises is whether people’s movements should enter politics at all. If they stay outside politics, they fail to create policy change. If they enter politics, they risk losing their moral distinctiveness. Movements awaken society. Political parties govern society. Movements demand change. Political parties manage change. Movements are driven by ideals. Political parties are constrained by reality. The journey from agitation to administration is perilous. Yet, democracies continue to need both leaders who challenge the system and politicians who attempt to run it.
