TEAM HERALD
NEW DELHI/ PANJIM: The Cortalim roadblock has held back finalisation of Congress candidates as well as formal allotment of seats as part of the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance.
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The seventh seat itch has assumed problematic proportions. With six seats settled, the NCP leaders Praful Patel at the centre and Praful Hede in Goa have informed All India Congress Committee’s Ahmed Patel and Chief Minister Digambar Kamat they want the NCP ticket for Ramakant Borkar.
For the Congress, it’s difficult to concede this because its campaign manager for the polls Mauvin Godinho has staked his prestige on getting the seat for a Scheduled Tribe candidate. It is learnt that the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) is not as adamant as Godinho, who seems to have used his position in the centre to make this seat a “non negotiable” one.
Goa’s leaders are now singing the Mauvin tune. Chief Minister Digambar Kamat told Herald “Madam Gandhi will have to finally clear this. The list will be out in two days but we want an ST candidate for Cortalim.”
NCP’s Praful Hede took an equally hard line “The Congress is coming to us with all kinds of permutations and offering seats. But we will not give up Cortalim. It’s a winning seat and we will not negotiate on it.”
With the deadlock on, the Congress on Wednesday decided to defer finalisation of its candidates for the Goa assembly elections to late this week or very early next week.
“We have offered them six seats, including three that they hold in the present house, but they remain adamant on seven seats. Talks have not broken down but there is still no finality and hence we asked the Goa leaders to return to the state to finalise other logistics and campaign”, a senior Congress leader said.
He said the party has more or less finalised names of 24 candidates as the single names have been recommended for the approval of the central election committee (CEC). The remaining names may be decided only next week before close of nominations.
The party leadership has given a leeway to Kamat and PCC president Subhash Shirodkar to accommodate one or two in case of any local understanding.
Kamat has also been asked to ascertain the stand of a MGP (Maharashtrawadi Gomantak party) minister in his cabinet if his party is to tie up with the rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“We, however, have no problem in his continuance if the MGP is contesting on its own and not in any alliance with the BJP”, the party leader added.
