The Congress is an ocean, this is a statement heard often when the party was at the height of its powers. And after a run of seven years at the helm of affairs in the State, the decimation in the 2012 Assembly polls was nothing if not shocking to the party. However, for analysts, and for most casual political watchers too, the result had been not obvious. To them there was no doubt that the State unit of the grand old party was in for a major shock.
Goa has defined many political events – including defection, ‘n’ number of chief ministers and general instability in the government. However, under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, status quo became a strategy, honed over the years and turned into a fine art which led to stability.
‘If we ignore anything and everything, it will ultimately blow over’, seemed to be the mantra. This was turned into such a fine art that after every successive defeat or setback, or any negative feedback, committees would be formed and an analysis made and all the right noises also made. But at the end of the story there was no change. Status Quo, and led to its defeats. Like Goa, at the national level Congress had been in government for ten years and then lost badly in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
But now there seems to be some change. “We need youth to come to the Congress. I am building up the organization,” says current State Unit president Luizinho Faleiro who is facing an uphill task in rebuilding the party.
The Congress revolving-door policy of the past has welcomed all who have left the party, giving many party members the guts to challenge the party.
Prime examples are former deputy speaker and Congress MLA Mauvin Godinho and Taleigao strongman and St Cruz MLA Atanasio Babush Monserrate. They have been defiant, both during the Lok Sabha elections as well as the recent Panjim by-polls. Sometimes, they have not just been defiant but have openly challenged the party to take action against them.
And till date, the party was just waiting for the storm to blow over so that it could “persuade” them to fall in line.
However, the Congress of today is not like what it was some years ago. And the politics of today is not the politics of even a couple of years ago. After the loss in the 2012 Assembly polls, the party experimented by appointing a relatively clean face as the president. Unfortunately he was unable to get the warring groups together and senior people like the Ranes ensured that he was replaced.
In came veteran Congressman Luizinho Faleiro. However, in a bid to try and get the warring factions together he got all the people who had worked against the interests of the party during the Lok Sabha elections and before and after on the platform together when he took over, antagonizing the common workers and sending a very wrong signal to the people. The Panjim by-poll result proved this analysis right as neither did Congressmen work in favour of the party candidate nor did the voters support the party and the defeat was quite bad. This forced the Congress party’s hand and at last one MLA was expelled.
“There is need to bring in change – either through the thinking, or bringing in new people or motivating the existing workers right from the grassroots level,” feels firebrand Congressman Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, who felt the brunt of the Congress dissidence and the lack of organization when he stood as the Congress South Goa nominee in the Lok Sabha elections.
But, more importantly as the party rank and file is saying – will the Congress welcome all those who worked against it with open arms as has been the practice in the past? According to many this open arms policy of the Congress is one of the reasons why the people are cynical about whether the party is serious about cleaning up its systems. The question also is whether winnability is still the most important criteria in selecting candidates and if status quo is the winning strategy.
“I believe that party leadership needs to motivate, encourage and promote those Congress loyalists who are working for the interests of the party. The question of replacing old faces with new does not arise, until, both old and new faces work together for the party,” says former chef minister Digambar Kamat sidelined in the run up to the 2012 elections and now maintaining a low profile.
