TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Once considered a party bastion, the Congress appears literally struggling to put its act together in Fatorda constituency, with party workers finding themselves at crossroads, having been completely relegated to the background post-2012 Assembly polls.
Caught between Congressman-turned-Independent MLA Vijai Sardessai on one side and the ruling BJP organisation led by former MLA Damu Naik, Congressmen are yet to come to terms following a complete rout in the Assembly polls. It’s not uncommon to hear Congressmen from Fatorda knocking the doors of the Independent MLA or BJP’s Damu Naik in the absence of any party leader who can inspire confidence amongst the party rank and file.
Take note, the party leadership was prompt in appointing Tito Cardozo, son of veteran Congress leader and former Minister, Luis Alex Cardozo, as the Fatorda block Congress Committee Chief following an exodus of block committee members and other frontal organisations in protest against the denial of party ticket to Sardessai. Much water has flown down the river Sal since then, but there seems no change in the Congress fortunes till date.
Tito Cardozo says the Fatorda Congress is in need of a total revamp in order to build up the party block-by-block. Induction of young blood and help from party leaders can work wonders to lift the sagging morale of the rank and file, Tito added.
Sources say the Block President has despatched a list of 25 workers for induction in the block committee to the GPCC chief Subhash Shirodkar for approval. “We are awaiting a nod from the GPCC chief on the constitution of the Block Committee before launching a plan of action to revive the party in the constituency”, he added.
Tito and other party leaders, including his father and former Minister, Luis Alex Cardozo, are of the firm opinion that periodic visits by the party leadership, including the MPs and Leader of the Opposition Pratapsing Rane to the district Congress office, can help do wonders towards the revival of the Congress. Says Luis Alex Cardozo: “If leaders visit Fatorda at least on a weekly basis and listen to the woes of the workers, it will help rejuvenate the party”.
Veteran Congressmen and former Goa Mahila Congress Chief, Monica Dias, who has been appointed as the GPCC vice-president, says the leadership should take into account the ground realities if they have plans to re-build the party. “Our leaders should understand the reality. They should bring back the leaders who had left the organisation to help re-build the party”, she said.
Added to the ongoing confusion in the minds of the rank and file is a question whether the Independent MLA Vijai Sardessai will return back to the party fold before the next Assembly polls.
“We are not sure as to who will be in and who will move out of the party before the next polls. That may be one reason why some of the party men are lying low and watching the developments from the sidelines for the moment”, remarked a party leader.
The Congress had maintained its stranglehold over Fatorda since 1989, wining the seat thrice, with Luis Alex Cardozo scoring a hat-trick of sorts, before the Lotus bloomed in the constituency in 2002. The Congress has failed to regain the Fatorda seat in the last three elections, with the party suffering its worst electoral defeat in the 2012, after being relegated way behind the victorious Independent candidate and
the BJP rival.
