PANJIM: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Goa is all set for revival to take up new challenges after a downfall in the 2012 general assembly elections and abstaining from contesting the recently concluded Zilla Panchayat elections.
The party has been tasked with launching party’s membership drive at booth level across all constituencies in a bid to strengthen its hold at the grass root level. The drive, which will begin in April to continue for over a month, has women as special target group.
The decision was taken during a meeting with the State unit party leaders headed by party’s Goa observer Bhaskarrao Jadhav on Sunday. “The party has to increase its presence across all corners of Goa and therefore, we have decided to start membership drive. We aim to enroll maximum number of women since our party was the first to constitute Rashtrawadi Yuvati Congress in the country,” he told Herald.
Conceding that the party has failed to grow at the grass root level, he said, they are reviving the party in the wake of the 2017 general assembly elections. The party had not got a single seat in the last election but, Jadhav said, they hope to make a comeback in the 2017 general assembly elections. The former Maharashtra minister however declined to comment whether they would forge am alliance with the Congress for the polls. “It is for the central leadership to decide,” he commented.
Jadhav said the NCP’s working committee will also be revised as they are looking for a change by giving opportunity to ‘new and young faces under the guidance of senior leaders.’
While nearly all the NCP leaders attended the meeting, which will be followed by one-on-one interaction with aspirants for the NCP State Unit President, its former head Nilkant Halarnkar remained absent. The ‘demoralized’ senior leader had recently stepped down from the post expressing dissatisfaction over the functioning of the party.
Party’s former president Jose Philip, who is reportedly a front runner for the post, is amongst 15 others including Anil Jolapure and Suhas Volvoikar aspiring for the position. Philip has said he would accept the post provided the party commits financial support to run the organization here.
The name would be finalized following a report to NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
