THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024
All across the country the Congress is struggling and failing to put out fires in its own house. There is more than infighting. There is an all-out war within the party. Far from even thinking of challenging the BJP, the Congress is losing the challenge to save itself. It is weak, it is broken and on the verge of total collapse. Goa is following the same template.
These are some myths that need to be exposed and busted
The Congress claims that it can alone take on the BJP: The victories in Rajasthan Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh appear to be from a distant past.
The Congress snatches defeat from the jaws of victory: Where it manages to form governments, the BJP topples it
Karnataka, Meghalaya, Manipur, Goa & Arunachal. The story goes on.
In Arunachal, in 2017 the Congress had a majority of 47 MLAs in a 60 embers Assembly and was still toppled with BJP having just 11 MLAs. Two years later, the BJP got a full majority.
In Karnataka 17 Congress and JDs MLAs resigned from the Kumaraswamy government, 12 of whom fought by-elections on a BJP ticket and a BJP government came to power.
In Meghalaya, BJP managed to form a non-Congress government with just 2 seats, even though Congress won the largest number of 21 seats. It managed to swing a Regional Alliance in its favour to have a non-Congress regional government with BJPs support.
In Manipur, the BJP won 21 seats and Congress 28 in a 60 member house. Yet BJP managed to break the Congress, led by rebel Biren Singh who became the BJP’s first Chief Minister in Manipur.
In Madhya Pradesh, its government did not last: The Congress government was toppled with the BJP engineering defections from the Congress. 22 MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia, resigned after which Scindia himself resigned and joined the BJP.
The toppled Chief Minister Kamal Nath blamed his party General Secretary Digvijay Singh for the fall of his government. Kamal Nath said that Digvijay had given false assurance that all the MLAs are united and his government is safe. Kamal Nath told this to a news channel, according to a website which reported this
Incidentally, after the Congress got the highest number of seats and had majority MLA support after the 2017 elections, it was Digvijay Singh, who according to Luizinho Faleiro, prevented him from staking claim to form the government even though the letter to stake claim was ready and printed. This critical delay led to the formation of the BJP government by stealing the mandate and pulling the carpet from under Congress’ feet. Once again, the Congress party was betrayed from within.
This pain and betrayal are being openly articulated by Faleiro and sections of the senior Congress leadership.
This is the writing on the wall: Even if the Congress manages to win, it ultimately loses to the BJP because its MLAs betray and jump sides
Then, in states where it still has a government, it is on the verge of collapsing with an all-out internal war. Ousted Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has lashed out at the party high command and State president Navjot Singh Sidhu calling him “dangerous” alleging he colluded with Pakistan to remove him. And what’s more, a veteran like Amarinder Singh, who brought Congress victory in Punjab has been compelled to say that he would field a candidate against Sidhu in the next elections to prevent him from becoming Chief Minister. Attacking at under this “drama master’s leadership”, it would be a big thing if the Congress managed to touch double digits in Punjab polls
In Rajasthan, there is an open war between Sachin Pilot and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with the younger Pilot feeling that he has not got his due for bringing the party to power in the state. There are two clear camps.
The opposition in Congress is from within. It doesn’t need others to split votes
Everywhere the biggest opposition to Congress is the Congress. There is no trust between the Congress MLAs in Goa and the party president. At block district and organisation levels, there are clear camps. Tickets are being randomly promised and deals are being struck. And party insiders lament that in some constituencies there are clear indications of fixing, with people, with ruling party links “lent” to the Congress to sideline other good candidates.
What is suffering: Service to the people. On what basis can it expect support when it doesn’t serve?
Other parties do not have to say it. In an emergency meeting of the Congress legislature party on September 17 MLAs spoke out against how Congress completely failed to take up important issues concerning the people of Goa.
The party leadership was accused of not opposing Goa becoming a coal hub and how it was during the tenure of Digambar Kamat as Chief Minister, that agreements were enacted with the Adanis and Jindals to transport more than 11 million tonnes of coal to the Goa port.
The Congress failed to press for the recovery of illegal mining loot of Rs 35,000 crore as per Supreme Court order dated 07/02/2018 was also mentioned.
Issues such as growing unemployment, destruction of ecology and environment, the three anti- Goan linear projects, promoting crony capitalism and inept COVID handling etc.
Can Congress simply assume that it will win simply because it’s the oldest opposition party
The collapsed state of the Congress is for all to see. At the same time, other Delhi-based hopefuls by their actions and preparations haven’t quite displayed their ability to take on the BJP either. It has only made less relevant promises. If a serious challenge has to be mounted on the BJP, then leaders and parties that have a track record of taking on the might of the BJP with absolutely no compromises are needed.
Don’t Goans have the right to be assured that if they vote for change, their MLAs won’t betray the mandate…
...And can the Congress in Goa ever give that assurance after its track record throughout the country and in Goa?
After losing or surrendering power to the BJP in state after state and even losing its right to have its Leader of the Opposition in Parliament because of too few seats, how does Congress even think of calling itself the principal challenger of the BJP?
