In a major and unexpected move, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar has turned around and issued a veiled threat of a revolt against the old faces in the Congress. Battered by senior Congress leaders for the losses that the party has been facing in successive local elections – be it the Zilla Panchayat or the municipal councils – Chodankar, whose resignation has been demanded for the party debacle, refused to be drawn into a controversy and instead said that the party will field 70 to 80 per cent new faces in the 2022 State Assembly elections. He gave the example of Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, States where elections are currently being held and in which the party has fielded a large number of new faces.
He didn’t end it there, but followed it up by stating that the juniors should muster the courage to stand up against the senior members. This is very unlike Chodankar, and if he is publicly stating this, then it could possibly have the backing of the party high command, and so the seniors in the Congress need to take note of the party leader’s statements made in Panjim. Chodankar might have been buoyed by the fact that, as he explained, in the ongoing polls in other States there are new faces, but he went further to proffer the example of how BJP veterans at the Centre were edged out by their juniors. This was given almost as a motivating factor to the second rung leaders in the party to lead the charge. All this of course won’t go well with the senior members in the party, and could lead to a new round of struggle for the leadership.
What we now know is that the Opposition party is going to field perhaps up to 80 per cent of new faces in the next election. But, can Congress assure the voters that these new faces, if elected, will stay on with the party? Chodankar went on to say that in the 2012 and 2017 Assembly elections, Congress gave election tickets to youth and mahilas. This is pertinent because among the MLAs that defected from the Congress to the BJP, besides many of the veterans, there were a few new faces, among them Clafasio Dias, Wilfred D’Sa and Tony Fernandes. True, there can be no guarantees given on what people may do in the future, but the party has to also take some responsibility for its choice of candidates. A recent example is of the ZP candidate for the by-election, Pratima Coutinho, who just days after losing the poll quit the Congress to embrace the Aam Aadmi Party.
It is uncontestable that Congress needs a strong whiff of freshness to drive away the staleness that has crept into the party over the past years, especially in recent times. It needs youth in the organisation and also in the electoral fray. The party is changing said Chodankar. Perhaps it can for a change give its candidates a head start in campaigning by identifying them and giving them the nod to begin work in the constituencies. That of course leaves the party open to rebellions within by those who have been left out, but that would be a risk that Congress has to take. Otherwise, where is the change? The change cannot be only in making statements, these have to be followed up by action and if Congress and Chodankar are serious they should prove it by their deeds. There is time for this, but time can also run out fast, for after making such a statement Chodankar can’t wait for matters to cool down.
