The 1996 parliamentary elections in Goa revealed that all parties contained factions that were more interested in defeating intra-party rivals than the formal opposition. The defeat of Congress candidate, Eduardo Faleiro, at the hands of Churchill Alemao, was a consequence of such dynamics. Moreover, Faleiro was also the victim of a protest vote against unpopular national and state Congress governments by the marginal elements of society that could not relate to his accomplishments or respond to him personally.
