Wagh front-runner for north seat?
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM As the race to the Lok Sabha elections enters its final leg, the visit of Congress top leader and Goa desk in charge Digvijaya Singh has added fuel to an already volatile atmosphere. Names are being thrown up as the party readies to release its second list of candidates. In Goa many names and many permutations and combinations are being discussed including the ‘new faces’ mantra that does the rounds every time an election comes up. This time the fresh faces discussion has gained momentum given the impact the new kid on the block – AAP has had on established political processes.
However, after various meeting’s the name of former Congressmen and now BJP legislator Vishnu Wagh has cropped up as the front runner after the initial hype of it being discussed at the CLP meeting.
Incidentally, Wagh is all set to join the anti-MoI dharna tomorrow against his own party policy. Wagh had earlier quit the Congress on this very pretext on the eve of the assembly elections. However, though Wagh appears to be the frontrunner, that is if he gets the Congress ticket and not NCP, given that the north Goa seat was fought by the NCP the last couple of times –he could give the genial BJP sitting MP Shripad Naik a run for the money even in the midst of all the Modi hype, most insiders and analysts feel. He blunts the caste factor that Shripad has enjoyed given the past couple of times the NCP ticket was given to upper caste candidates and on top of it is a fiery and dynamic speaker.
Sources say that both parties are aware of that and there are negotiations on to decide on the tickets with a high level meeting expected to happen tonight with an in principle decision likely tonight.
Ravi Naik former MP and CM and also a strong candidate whose name has been recommended as candidate had told media that he is not interested. However, insiders say that the reason for this is that he is not sure of how hard his MLA colleagues will work for him in north given the history he has shared with some powerful forces in north Goa.
Surprisingly and maybe not so surprisingly given the propensity of the Congress to shoot itself in the foot and its fame for the wheels amid wheels working has led to its present state of decline, one
A group within the Congress is lobbying hard that the ticket remains with the NCP as they are wary of working against the BJP – rather mostly against its Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
However, all indications are that the tiger could roar on a Congress ticket and he is indeed the frontrunner for the ticket leaving his other rivals far behind – unless the Congress decides that as he is not a member of the party, and he cannot be given the ticket.
In a further twist, there are already BJP men — including a former councillor and panchas – who are already working in the constituency anticipating that Wagh will resign, leave the party and St Andre will face by elections.
