Perhaps, good sense will prevail in the Cong
In a sea of uncertainty that the Congress finds itself in, there’s a very faint silver lining. So faint that clarity still eludes it. But it’s perhaps the only way forward.
Oscar Fernandes is the front and Sonia Gandhi the architect. There appears to be a clear message that the party needs to go back to the drawing board, look at people who have been in the party for long and make them the foot soldiers of the campaign. The party needed this inspiration injection during an election marred with dissention, infighting and a resurgent BJP. Before we proceed further, the only scar in this picture is Fatorda where Rahul Gandhi’s mission of youth empowerment has resulted in a “dirty picture” of betrayal. But we shall leave that for now.
The first signs of this thinking were visible when the Yuvraj of Sattari suddenly found himself looking more like the emperor in waiting without the right clothes rather than a monarch who has proclaimed himself king. Cut back to September when Vishwajits boys were the new dudes in town. Dayanand Sobte, Rajesh Patnekar, Uday Palyekar. They were on Yuvraj’s speed dial and fast tracked into a political space they called their own. It was Junior Rane who decided when Sobte would be inducted and sensing some delay by the state congress, he dialled the ‘high command” and snapped. In two hours Sobte was in and Yuvraj was pleased. The Chief Minister said he had nothing to do with operation Sobte or Patnekar. Gradually the honeymoon got over. The BJP defectors realised that the currency that they accepted as payment for their switch to the congress was fake. Each was promised a plateful of jobs to be distributed to the employment hungry. But there simply weren’t so many jobs to be given, leaving in its wake a trail of disappointment. Suddenly old timers like Babi Bagkar in Mandrem raised their heads and were heard in Delhi. Babi and Sameer Salgaocar who has been in the party for long, have reached an understanding to help each other irrespective of who gets the ticket, but have vowed to fight against defector Sobte. In Bicholim, the block Congress is resurgent saying loyalty will be their calling card. Patnekar does not like this but too bad.
In St Cruz, a contentious constituency since Education Minister Babush Monseratte has claimed it as his, a loyalty gust of wind seems to have wafted in. “Mami” met Madam at 10 Janpath recently and the two ladies surely didn’t trade food recipes on a Delhi winter morning. The chat brought Victoria Fernandes back on the Congress ticket radar and on Sunday night son Rudolf had another long meeting with Ahmed Patel, Mrs Gandhi’s point man. A ticket to Victoria Fernandes or her son may result in Babush Monseratte revolting, but the Congress will have the rare and fast vanishing satisfaction of doing it the right way.
This election is not yet lost and if they do right, they may be in a position to take a shot at governance. Its government may have kings and commoners but for a change it must give up the floor to the man in the village tinto, the farmer on the field and the mother who walks for miles to send her child to school. Its needs to be loyal to its people.
