The Goa Forward’s message to the Congress AICC in-charge that the party leadership is against giving Francisco Sardinha a ticket is not only unnecessary but upsets the united opposition equilibrium, especially when the Aam Aadmi Party with 2 MLAs has unconditionally decided to back the Congress irrespective of who the candidate is.
The Goa Forward, by opposing Francisco Sardinha also needs to clarify which candidate or the type of Congress candidate it will support other than a tried and tested MP who won on a Congress ticket in 2019 in an election where more than 70% of the Congress candidates across the country faced resounding defeats in the middle of wave.
Goa Forward said there will be negative ramifications if Mr Sardinha is given a ticket. What are these ramifications?
Shouldn’t a choice be made for a candidate who has never betrayed the people’s mandate or defected and has won elections to the Assembly and Parliament? Or should those who have lost
every election they have ever fought be supported for vested interests?Let people decide on whose candidature will have ‘negative ramifications’.
Is there any time to experiment with party ticket conductors who contest to lose? Or with those who have no political base, have pockets of limited influence in one assembly constituency, in a Lok Sabha election covering 20 to 21 Assembly segments? And have been propped by holy elements who spend more time in politics than in their hallowed social profession.
This is a serious election not a time for games. The Aam Admi Party has displayed its maturity and commitment to the larger cause by deciding to unconditionally support the Congress after announcing its candidate for South Goa. One should learn the etiquette and essence of unified opposition dharma from AAP. The Aam Aadmi Party did not put a spanner by saying it is against any Congress candidate.
The Goa Forward leadership has mentioned that it is “against Sardinha”. A responsible political party does not make a statement that it is against a candidate of another political party that is part of a coalition of parties, not a coalition of individuals. And if a candidate is opposed in this manner then the reason for the opposition should be made clear. When this is done by a credible party, then it doesn’t look like a vested interest arrangement.
As a responsible member of a vital faith institution in Goa said very recently “Our enemies are from within.” Therefore responsible parties must make it clear who they are with. Those who have never done any deal with another party or those who have always done ‘arrangements’ for vested interests. Those who have an arrangement with vested interested people have vested interests themselves.
Should one back those who were part of a nexus to prevent Congress from forming a government in 2017 and handing the reins of power to the BJP, stabbing the party from within? Should one back those who have weakened and destroyed the organisation and now want another ticket only to lose? The Goa Forward must make it clear if these are the kinds of candidates they are not against.
This is going to be a watershed election and integrity and transparency is important not only during the campaign phase and after. Even more crucial is a zero tolerance to “arrangement” and ‘vested interest’ politics.
If Cong fails to plan, it will plan to fail in North Goa
Retired lions cannot roar in today’s political battlefield for Cong
The Congress is at a complete loss and is figuring out who to field in North Goa against BJP’s Shripad Naik. After wasting four years with no organisational set-up built up and no candidate groomed and encouraged the same last minute scramble will be seen. And the hara-kiri of getting any one including much retired ‘lions’ who are totally cut off from today’s ground realities and the strategy and toughness needed to give an alternative to the people of North Goa.
The Congress will betray the people even before elections if they go down this road, or give the ticket to someone who is waiting to contest any elections from anywhere with neither hope nor intention to win, but only play the ‘fund game’.
