MARGAO: From the run up to the meeting to the manner in which it unfolded, it was clear that the Congress has decided to stick to a two-fold strategy – capitalise on the intolerance wave and bask in the defeat of the BJP in Bihar, and try and show a united party front in the face of fractions that threaten to destabilise the party.
And backing this were senior party men from across the State who turned up to support the party and give it enough backing as it attempts to regain Goa, and the Salcete bastion in particular, that has always been its best bet.
Former MLAs Angelo Fernandes, Felipe Neri Rodrigues, Subash Shirodkar, Ravi Naik, Babu Azgaonkar, Luis Aleixo Cardozo, former MP Francisco Sardinha were present along with all Congress MLAs, except for junior Rane. Congress leaders like AICC secretary Girish Chodankar, spokesperson Yatish Naik, State Mahila Congress chief Sunita Verenkar and others like Subash Phaldesai were among those were seated on the dais.
The timing for the party was important as it was celebrating the municipal victories in Margao, Quepem, Valpoi and GPCC president Luizinho Faleiro chose the occasion to congratulate Congress workers who were elected as municipal councillors.
However, the decision to keep the ‘new faces’ like the recently-elected municipal councillors or Zilla Panchayat members as well as ground leaders like booth level presidents and other ticket aspirants to be seated on the front row of the crowd and not on the dais struck a nerve among some.
This was in sharp contrast to Faleiro’s speech about revamping the party through the injection of new blood and it remains to be seen if the strategy pays off or turns out to be counterproductive.
There appeared to be the strong-handed approach of the party leadership who have been facing a tough time keeping its flock together as they deal with rival fractions at the constituency level and choose to focus on the positives as they succeeded in ensuring that all of these fractions were present for the meeting.
In the past, Faleiro has seen rival factions fight over who got invited to the stage and sources pointed out that in the run up to the November 14 meeting; the Congress leadership was pressed about questions about new faces.
Even in Cuncolim, where there have been questions galore about the divisions in the party, the councillors from the panel backed by former Congress MLA Joaquim ALemao were present but no Alemao was in sight.
One was taken back to the earlier Congress meeting in 2014 held at Lohia Maidan, where the Lok Sabha campaign was also prematurely kicked off, only to be disbanded after the ticket was given to Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco much to the dismay of Francisco Sardinha and the Alemao brothers.
While the party will concentrate its efforts on preventing a repeat of that situation in the months to come, the manner in which Faleiro targeted MLAs in his speech, particularly those who had won their seats repeatedly, gave an impression that the party wanted to move over from the Family Raj image that had led the party to its downfall in the 2012 elections.
From a larger perspective and issue based focus, rather than personality based, Faleiro tried to belittle the alliance formula and the alliance players and it has to be seen how well the party accepts his belief that the party alone can be stronger.
And to push the party as the alternative to the BJP, the Congress has decided to latch on to the intolerance subject and through its speeches on the topic and how the party was secular as opposed to the BJP, as it tried to strike a chord with the public. The Congress is riddled with corruption charges and infighting and needs a platform to push its own agenda and propaganda and it was apparent that issues like ban on beef and the Dadri lynching which has a universal message and was extensively used by the Congress during the municipal elections is going to be that platform the time being. Never before has the party administrated an oath at Lohia Maidan and the party tried to use this hyperbole to shrug off allegations against its MLAs, in the garb of BJP’s ‘vendetta’, and stuck to the development plank.
In South Goa, the emergence of Chandrakant (Babu) Kavalekar who has gained presence in Cuncolim and Sanguem via the ZP elections and won the municipal elections has been a blessing for the party and this the second time that Faleiro went all out to congratulate Kavalekar.
Faleiro also spoke about how Kamat, whose performance in the municipal elections was highlighted, will bring about a ‘sea change’ especially in the youth and this was supported by the onstage speeches made by Margao youth members on allegiance to the party.
With the exception of Velim, Faleiro does not enjoy such an easy path in the rest of the South Goa constituencies but is hoping that with the party beginning its groundwork with the Lohia Maidan meeting, the party’s chances can only improve from here.
