With the Goa Assembly elec tions only months away, the Congress-led Opposition is finding it increasingly difficult to project the unit ed front it has promised against the ruling BJP. Even as Congress leaders insist that alliance talks are pro gressing smoothly, a series of public disagreements, internal disciplinary ac tion and leadership tussles have fuelled questions over whether the Opposition can first put its own house in order before asking voters for a mandate.
The latest signs emerged after Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) presi dent attempted to down play visible strains within the Congress-Goa Forward Party (GFP) alliance, in sisting that the disagree ments were temporary and manageable. “There is no reason for concern. We are in touch with our alliance partner and all issues will be sorted out soon,” Girish Chodankar said, maintaining that the Opposition remained com mitted to presenting a united challenge to the BJP. His assurance, however, came against the backdrop of an increasingly public spat between Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao and GFP president Vijai Sardesai over Monday’smeeting of Opposition leg islators — a controversy that has exposed the fragile coordination between alli ance partners. Seeking to explain Sarde sai’s absence, the Congress chief described the episodeas nothing more than a communication lapse. “Sardesai has two mo bile phone numbers.
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The message from the Leader of the Opposition was sent to the other number, which he did not read. It was purely a communication gap,” he said. But Sardesai rejected the explanation outright, esca lating the confrontation by alleging that a conspiracy was underway to discredit him politically. Claiming he had not spoken to Alemao for nearly three months — and that the Leader of the Opposition had not even wished him on his birthday — Sardesai challenged Ale mao to produce proof that the message had been sent. He said he was prepared to subject his mobile phone to forensic examination to establish that no such message had been received.
Sardesai warned that if the number cited did not belong to him, he would lodge a police complaint against the per son impersonating him. Calling the episode an attempt to tarnish his credentials as an Opposition leader, Sardesai said it was the second such incident directed against him. In a move widely seen as signalling that the GFP intends to assert its bargaining position before alliance negotia tions, Sardesai simultaneously announced the constitution of the party’s Political Affairs Committee, which will delib erate on all political issues, including electoral alliances. While trying to steady relations with the GFP, the Con gress also kept the door open for expanding the Opposition bloc. The Congress president said the party was willing to ally with all Opposition parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), adding that preliminary discussions had been com pleted and formal negotiations on a pre-poll alliance would begin shortly. However, he also questioned AAP’s political strategy, say ing its central leaders were campaigning in constituencies represented by Congress MLAs even while discussions on an alliance continued. “One side they are talking of alliance and on the other campaigning in our constituencies.
I have told AAP State leaders that there should be clarity and no room for con fusion,” he said. Even as Congress sought to build external alliances, it found itself grappling with internal dissent. The party had expelled Manisha Usgaonkar and Sham ila Siddiqui for six years over alleged anti-party activities following recommendations of its disciplinary committee. Usgaonkar said she learnt of the decision through media reports and questioned why leaders who had physically confronted senior functionaries in the past had been par doned while she faced expulsion after consistently oppos ing BJP leader Vishwajit Rane in Valpoi. “This is the reward I got for fighting against the BJP for the last four and a half years,” she said, adding that she intended to seek an explanation from the party’s central leadership and pursue legal remedies.
The disciplinary action also drew criticism from former GPCC president Amit Patkar, who described the expulsions as unjustified. According to Patkar, both leaders had consistently fought against the BJP and the RSS, questioning whether opposing the ruling party had now become grounds for expulsion. Referring to the Congress-GFP standoff, he said the public exchange over messages had damaged the credibility of the alliance. “What happened on Monday was not good for the alli ance. Publicly displaying messages is not in Goa’s interest because it creates a trust deficit among people. If the pre poll alliance is not to continue, it should be stated clearly,” he said.
Patkar also announced that he would contest the 2027 Assembly election from Curchorem on a Congress ticket. Taken together, the developments have reinforced the perception that the Opposition’s biggest challenge is no longer merely taking on the BJP, but convincing voters that it can function cohesively.
