TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: With the Congress ticket fiasco bringing the two political arch rivals face to face once again, Curtorim assembly segment may soon turn out to be a battleground between the Congress candidate Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco and outgoing MP Francisco Sardinha in the run up to the April 12 Lok Sabha polls.
Hurt and angry over being ignored the ticket party leadership at the eleventh hour, Sardinha has decided to descend on his home village Curtorim on Sunday and interact with his workers and supporters, seething with anger over his neglect. The three-time MP is likely to unveil his future plan after lending an ear to his workers and sympathisers hailing from his constituency.
The ticket fiasco has virtually brought the Sardinha camp close to former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao, with sources saying that the two camps are likely to work in tandem against the Congress candidate.
Indications that the Congress decision to nominate Reginaldo for South Goa did not go down well with the Sardinha camp became evident when the sitting MP’s son Shallom led the way by resigning from the primary membership of the party. He was followed by Curtorim Block Congress Committee president Milagres Menezes, who too has quit from the post as well as from the primary membership of the party.
An angry Shallom has not taken lightly Congress party’s decision to treat his father in a shabby manner after serving the party for decades now. He is believed to have called on the former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao and had even offered to contest the April 12 poll to register his protest against the manner in which his father was treated by the Congress leadership.
Churchill conceded that Shallom had called on him on Wednesday, but maintained that he alone would contest against the Congress candidate as an independent candidate if his demand is not met by Friday morning.
On the other hand, the Reginaldo camp is equally gearing up to ensure that the MLA registers a comfortable margin from his home constituency. Sources said that Reginaldo may even kick off his campaign with a road show from his home constituency with his supporters and well wishers to send across a message loud and clear that Sardinha factor may not have any bearing on him in the election.
When contacted, Sardinha confirmed that he would interact with his supporters and sympathisers at his Curtorim residence of Sunday. “I will take a decision on my future after hearing my workers. I will go by their decision”, he said.
Meanwhile, a day after he quit the Congress party, Curtorim Block Congress Committee president Milagres Menezes said he has quit the post in protest against the shabby treatment meted out to sitting Congress MP Francisco Sardinha. “The Congress leadership ditched and backstabbed Sardinha by denying him the ticket at the eleventh hour. I am not against Reginaldo Lourenco, but the way the Congress leadership has treated Sardinha is condemnable. I have decided to part ways with the Congress since it has ditched our leader at
the eleventh hour”,
Milagres added.
