Jal Khambata
NEW DELHI: The AICC General secretary in charge of Goa, Digvijay Singh, has clearly stated that the final selection of Congress candidates from Goa for the 2017 elections, will not be in the hands of ‘any individual’. The due process will be followed and the finalisation of the tickets will happen in Delhi. “Our candidates will be declared latest by October,” Singh said, while speaking exclusively to Herald.
Digvijay Singh sought to explain that no individual finalises the party candidates. He said the ticket are given democratically through a procedure involving the District Congress Committee, Pradesh Election Committee and the Screening Committee and then only the names are placed before the central election committee (CEC) in Delhi for finalisation.
This assumes significance in the wake of some amount of distress in the Goa Congress over the ‘declaration’ of some Congressmen as potential candidates either directly or through strong indications from GPCC president Luizinho Faleiro’s camp. This has led to some sharp reactions from within the party. (see box)
The Congress general secretary also dropped enough hints that the Congress will be picking up new faces for a majority of the seats to get rid of those with baggage that has affected the party’s image. Even the performance of the sitting MLAs will be evaluated while considering their candidature.
