One is a little surprised at the sudden intense activity going on in the Congress, a party that had literally gone to sleep.
As the new TMC leadership, headed by Luizinho Faleiro flew east to join and invite Mamata Banerjee to come to Goa to welcome many more new Goans into Team TMC, the Congress started using social media influencers who can be easily ‘influenced’ and the political pundits of the Facebook and Whatsapp universities to spew venom on Luizinho Faleiro, manufacture stories of there being anger against his quitting and all sorts of narratives, to push the only response the Congress has come with – that the TMC will split votes.
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Faleiro’s track record in Goa as well as nationally speaks for itself. He maintained a dignified silence and, in his resigning, too, he has maintained that dignity, never once attacking or saying a single negative word against the Gandhis or the ethos of the Congress. He has only and rightly spoken about the deals and dealmakers in Goa who surrendered a mandate for the Congress, which he had managed but was forced to give up which led to the betrayal of the people of Goa. There is no confusion in this.
Let us be very clear and this is a commonsense logic. On what basis can an organisationless, leaderless Congress, with every possibility of even their limited number of MLAs defecting enmasse to the BJP, talk about splitting of votes?
Are those who are repeating this false splitting of votes theory actually rattled that if a genuine opposition to the BJP like the TMC wins the people’s support, then it will fail to deliver as the B team of the BJP? This B team has shown that it is incapable of taking on the BJP but actually helps to strengthen it. The number of MLAs Congress had in March 2017 after the elections and now is proof of this. And this did not happen under Luizinho Faleiro. It happened by side-lining him.
A shaken Congress is now doing door-to-door campaigning in homes of their own party men
AICC desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao is now on a door-to-door campaign. Not in the homes of people, but of his own party men who the party had totally ignored for many years. The first door to be knocked on was Agnelo Fernandes, ex MLA of Calangute. He was then asked to fly to Delhi and was to meet Rahul Gandhi. In 2017, Fernandes was not even given a ticket from Calangute and was given the consolation ticket of Saligao with less than a month left for polling. The Congress also never thought it fit to ever look closely at his role as head of corporations and the controversies surrounding them during its tenure.
Is the Congress so shaken that it is desperate to hold on to party men whom it did not give a second thought to?
Then Mr Gundu Rao himself went to the residence of former Panjim Mayor Surendra Furtado who had ambitions of becoming the party president and the Congress candidate for Panjim. Apart from his two-family wards he has not won a single election in his life. The AICC Desk-in charge would have hardly spoken or met him, but now he gets a home visit. But one still wonders if the Congress can ever promise him a ticket from Panjim, since it needs to keep the seat vacant for the biggest aya raam gaya ram of Goan politics who changes parties in every election.
The real reason why the Congress is nervous is that it had publicly counted on being the other party to pose as a real challenger to the BJP, thus giving it sympathy support. It did not expect TMC to emerge as the only other party to enter the scene as it’s a clear challenger to the BJP nationally.
TMC’s entry has also exposed the current Goa Congress leadership’s B party deal with the BJP. It has also upset some independents who have struck a deal with the Congress and are now sounding increasingly irritated at Didi’s Goa gambit and have started doing what is the easiest option – attack Luizinho. People of Goa understand this.
Why is the BJP cautious? TMC is not just a political tourist. It is nervous that Didi’s party will make Goa its home, with Goans
The BJP knows the manner in which people have reacted to the three linear projects, especially the double tracking, its refusal to stop coal entering Goa, unemployment and the running of businesses has deeply hurt the people, who also know how its mandate was stolen. Its only hope in 2022 is splitting of votes through its B teams. The TMC, by its track record alone, will never be anyone’s B team or allow any splitting of votes. What is more, not a single MLA from the TMC has and will ever defect to the BJP and help BJP form a government.
Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant may refer to TMC’s entry as political tourism. But it is also nervous that Didi’s party will make Goa it’s home, with Goans.
The TMC is not targeting minority votes alone. On a scale on which it will fight it aims to get right-thinking votes which include all communities. And the BJP knows that, which is why the BJP’s think tank will treat TMC with far more political seriousness than the utterly frivolous Congress and some of their new independent allies.
Goans have always welcomed tourists with open arms and made good tourists feel at home. This time it may help make this “political tourist” its very “own”.
Therefore, while Congress is rattled, the BJP is very cautious because Didi cannot be taken lightly in any election.
