It may be recalled that Alemao, on Friday, expressed his willingness to join the Congress while speaking about his plans for the 2017 Assembly elections. He confirmed that he will definitely contest from Benaulim constituency. While stating that he would be an Independent candidate, he also said that if the need arises or if he gets an offer from the Congress, he will accept it and join the party.
His statement has been taken with a pinch of salt among the party cadre and leaders, especially down South, who point out that this is not the first time Alemao has made such a comment and that party has already spoken about this topic in the past; it does not see why it should react every time Alemao talks about his chances of rejoining the party.
Speaking about Alemao’s comments, Chodankar clarified that he is not the authority to decide on the matter. He further said that it is alright if somebody wants to join the party to strengthen it and help it grow, but if someone wanted to join only to strengthen himself then it was a selfish motive.
“When it comes to Churchill, it has to be seen if he wants to join and serve the party. If it is for himself, then I would be cautious. If Churchill wants to join the party, he should serve it for at least five years, hear what the people of Goa have to say, and introspect and let them know that he has changed,” said Chodankar.
He continued, “After five years, the party can take a decision on electoral ambitions. Churchill has left and joined the party many times, and in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he left our party and worked against us and contributed to the defeat of our candidate Reginaldo. That is why I say Churchill has to introspect. I know his strengths and weaknesses.”
Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco, who has been speaking about the need for the party to bring in new faces, recently said that he has already made his stand on the issue clear to the Congress high command and that he is waiting for a reply.
Meanwhile, many Congress workers have said that it is important for the party to make its stand clear on this topic at the appropriate time as the matter has started creating a buzz amongst public.
