PANJIM: Playing down the impact of former Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco resigning from Congress and joining Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Congress election observer for Goa, P Chidambaram asserted that only Congress has the capacity to defeat the BJP despite its “money power and misuse of State power”.
Commenting on the number of Congress MLAs resigning from the party recently including Lourenco, Chidambaram stressed that only two Congress MLAs have joined the TMC.
“99% of Congress workers remain with the Congress. I am not unhappy that Reginaldo Lourenco defected to the TMC. The TMC has taken a losing candidate from our hands and, if it fields him in the elections, he will remain a losing candidate,” said Chidambaram.
Given that Congress had already announced Lourenco as their candidate for Curtorim, Chidambaram replied saying, “The Congress workers and the voters of Curtorim Constituency are determined to defeat Lourenco.”
He added that it is not for him to comment on the motive or strategy of any party when asked to respond to the perception of TMC and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) being BJP’s – B teams.
He however opined that TMC and AAP are fracturing the non-BJP vote in Goa but added that he cannot say whether it will ultimately benefit the BJP.
“We hope to do well in the 2022 elections,” he said.
He added that Congress is the party that has deep roots in all the 40 constituencies of Goa and that the 2022 Goa Assembly elections will be a straight fight between the BJP and the Congress will emerge as the clear winner.
Asked if the Congress will announce its chief ministerial face before the elections, Chidambaram explained that a call will be taken after all the Congress candidates are announced and in consultation with them, whether it is desirable to announce a Chief Minister candidate before the elections.
He added that the option to do so nonetheless is open. He also admitted that Congress standing in Goa took a hit between 2017 and 2018 when its elected MLAs defected to the BJP but criticised the BJP government in Goa of being a government of defectors, by defectors and for defectors.
He reiterated that there will not be any exodus of the party’s elected leaders after the elections.
