No brother!: Furious Joaquim may take solo path if Yuri denied Cong ticket

TEAM HERALD

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Panjim:   There is a twist in the Alemao tale. In a script worthy of a frothy soap opera, the loyal Alemao, Joaquim is angry and hurt that his brother Churchill Alemao’s daughter Valanka will definitely get a Congress ticket while his son Yuri will be left out in the cold. Joaquim, the less vocal of the Alemao brothers has distanced himself from Churchill and his decisions.  For instance the PWD minister and the chief minister have teamed up to work against common enemies like Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) general secretary Vijay Sardessai. Joaquim on the other hand is clearly backing Vijai.

According to sources, Joaquim literally exploded, when he learnt from his sources that Yuri Alemao was being sacrificed. In a conversation with one partyman in Delhi he is believed to have said “I will show who is the leader. Why these double standards (ticket to Valanka and not Yuri). Yuri and me will both fight as independents.”

It is also reliably learnt that Joaquim spoke to  Vijay, who is currently in Delhi to lobby for his own Fatorda ticket, which has got jeopardized by a pincer movement of other Congress aspirants, some of them backed by the chief Minister himself.  Vijay too is not opening his cards but is very likely to lead an anti- chief minister movement along with likeminded people like Joaquim Alemao and Babush Monserrate.

Speaking to Herald, Joaquim very candidly said, “I have been a loyalist and I even went against my  brother when he formed the Save Goa Front, for the sake of the party. I have saved this government. I have not asked for Yuri’s ticket but the party needs to understand. Otherwise, Yuri will contest as an independent anyway and I will also take my own decision.”

Meanwhile Education Minister Babush Monserrate, who has been kept in check, with the subtle threat of pursuing investigations by central agencies against him, too is keeping options open if the St Cruz ticket is not given to him.

These developments cast a shadow over the screening committee meeting of the Congress in Delhi. No decisions were taken and the meeting has been postponed to around January 20. The issue of deep dissentions within the party was later discussed by Oscar Fernandes’ who heads the screening committee and former Goa CM Luizinho Faleiro. The duo later  contacted General Secretary Ahmed Patel. Chief Minister Digamabr Kamat and GPCC president Subhash Shirodkar later rushed back to Goa.