While there is no denying the fact that the Congress still rests in the hearts of many Goans across Goa, does it even have the face, integrity or courage to go to the people as a credible alternative to the BJP in Goa?
Notwithstanding, the possible seat-sharing arrangement at the I.N.D.I.A level, does the Congress expect Goans to accept choices who have not inspired confidence in Parliament or of PAs who have served the Gandhis and functioned as ticket conductors?
Or for that matter neo fly by night activists who have become politicians selling the crusader card. These are choices Goans must reject.
Has the South Goa MP made the voice and heartbeat of Goans heard in Parliament? Has he made a single speech that gave Goans the feeling that their interests were being heard and protected in Parliament? Of course, a government with a brute majority will pass bills but in a democracy, it is what you speak in parliament and the stand that you take, is what people remember. In the long run, the nature of democracy is such that parties with brute majorities will get bills and laws passed through. But the delight of democracy is how you feel for your land and nation, and how you articulate your stands. Some of the best-loved parliamentarians have not always been on the ruling side. Somnath Chatterjee, Gurudas Dasgupta, George Fernandes to name a few.
Did Mr. Francisco Sardinha speak on the Major Ports Bill which has literally carved out a Mormugao Port Authority, which wields power over a vast coastal and hinterland area of Goa where even local bodies don’t have power?
Did Mr. Sardinha utter a word about the draconian double-tracking project which has steamrolled through Goa’s countryside, where the project proponents have even encroached on land which does not belong to them, and people’s homes have also been touched?
Did the Congress South Goa MP say a word in Parliament? There are people who have lost lives in Pernem taluka due to speeding trucks carrying construction materials for the Mopa airport.
Moreover, those whose lands have been taken for these expansions have not yet been compensated. Why can’t this be an issue that can be raised by the South Goa MP? After all, he is a Goan MP and there’s no Congress MP from North Goa.
An MP doesn’t need any confidence motions to speak because that depends on who the party assigns to speak. But there are so many other avenues with the MP to raise issues on behalf of the people who have reposed their democratic trust in you.
The Congress beats in the hearts of Goans. But do the hearts of those who have occupied importance in the party beat for them?
Girish Chodankar has been party president for many a season. He has contested virtually every election that has come his way at all levels but has never won. More importantly, there is an absolute consensus in the party that after the heydays of 2017 when Luizinho Faleiro was the president and led the party to victory before being cheated of power due to the betrayers, the Congress collapsed under Girish Chodankar. Do the hearts of these leaders ever beat for the common Goan?
From then on, under Chodankar, the party has become a parody of its former self. In the grassroots the organisation has withered away, the committees are either non-existent or non-functional, no senior leader is even willing to spend time in the party office.
There has been no membership drive initiated for ages, and the party and its legislative wing appear to have no coordination. Shockingly the Congress couldn’t even come up with one name to nominate for the Rajya Sabha even for the sake of having an opposition and not letting the BJP candidate get elected unopposed. IT’S AN ABSOLUTE SHAME.
In election after election, Congress has struggled to even put up candidates. Those who get tickets including some who first get tickets and then join the party seek their blessings from representatives of institutions of faith and have nothing to do really with building the party. These institutions play politics where Goa loses, irrespective of who wins.
The Congress in Goa is sadly seen as truly a party of the selfish by the selfish. Where is the party’s interest?
MLAs of the party seem to be getting an almost allergic reaction to the party after taking oath as MLAs. In two consecutive terms, two-thirds of MLAs have split and moved to the BJP, degrading the people’s trust.
There is genuine apprehension in the minds of Congress supporters in Congress bastions, that their vote will be robbed and sold. What Congress needs is to infuse the belief and faith in the party. Old associations have to be revived, conversations have to be restarted and honesty has to be felt and not spoken.
Conductors and silent MPs need to be kept far away from the election process
And this relationship needs to be built, not two weeks before the elections when ticket conductors sell tickets and deal-making politicians are presented before the people as their choices. They don’t have a say in selecting them and there is no relationship of faith built over trust, just new aces thrust on them.
Firstly, Sardinha, Chodankar & tried and failed leaders should be kept out. And Congress rebuilt
If Congress needs a reboot, then those behind the withering away of Congress need to be moved out. This is clear and not debatable. The time for selecting credible candidates for the two seats is running out but even now a fresh beginning can be made with fresh faces. The Congress doesn’t need big stars, but honest people who will star in its recovery.
The time is opportune because Rahul Gandhi’s interventions in Manipur and his return to Parliament have prepared a ground for collaborative action. This will involve showing leadership at the State, district and block levels. This leadership is hollow in the present Goa Congress.
A total rejigging with a clear announcement that Francisco Sardinha and Girish Chodankar will neither be given tickets or have anything to do with the candidate selection process is the first step.
Secondly, every block has to be recognised with new people with no personal ambitions but working to get back the affection and trust of the people.
Thirdly all frontal organisations must be reformed – women, youth, legal cell, communication, etc, to be able to take the party forward organically. Catching candidates at the last moment, giving these symbols and pretending to contest the elections will not do. This is a perfect recipe for defections.
Most importantly there should be a lifetime ban for those who have defected and left the party and a campaign held, to ensure that they are never elected again.
