What’s next for the Congress? Are stunned Party leaders going to keep themselves busy with the ‘slam game’? Goa desk in-charge A Chellakumar squarely blamed his partymen for pressing for the re-entry of Atanasio Monseratte into the Congress fold despite resistance from him and several others. Former GPCC President Girish Chodankar is also of a similar view and admitted that banking on Babush was their folly. Margao MLA Digambar Kamat called for introspection on why party leaders are leaving despite getting a mandate. Everyone seems to have a viewpoint.
It’s in the interest of the party that Congress should regroup and plan out future strategies rather than focusing on the blame game. The party must understand the fact that it had a clear mandate in the 2017 assembly elections and still has a huge voter base spread across the State. It’s the party following that should be the immediate focus. To the party’s misfortune, it is only the selfish and power-hungry leaders that have let it down.
The Congress leaders need to ensure that grass-root workers are not disillusioned and demoralised. If the worker base is intact, the Congress could still manage to work its way up keeping its focus on the 2022 assembly elections. It cannot think of short-term goals and try short-cuts if the party is serious about a revival.
Congress is not bereft of young leaders and this 10-member exodus will only give an opportunity for new faces to shoulder the responsibility of taking the party forward. It is time the party screens and grooms new leaders rather than relying on defectors and betrayers to take the party forward.
Another factor that could work in favour of the Congress is the mismatch between ideologically rooted party workers. There are hardcore workers who have an unflinching commitment to their respective parties, be it BJP or Congress. Reconciliation and acceptability will be a big challenge for those Congressmen who have joined the BJP. The recent bypoll is a glaring example. Party-hopping and swearing-in can happen overnight, but the reconciliatory process with ground-level workers is not going to be easy. And the first reaction from Utpal Parrikar is a clear indication to that effect.
All said and done, the Congress rebuilding must begin on a war footing. But before that, party leaders must quickly introspect on why their MLAs are leaving the party despite getting the mandate. It is obvious that frustration had crept in the MLAs for being out of power. It was clear that the Congress had exhausted all its options of clinching power. It has been a constant struggle since March 2017 when Manohar Parrikar government stitched an alliance with Goa Forward, MGP and Independents, virtually snatching the advantage from Congress. There were several times when the party came within striking distance but internal party wrangling and leadership issues came in the way.
Election in current times is about big money and legislators spend crores of rupees in the battle of the ballot. Gone are the days when politicos could be content with the role of a vocal opposition and a watchdog. This is an era of ‘power-play’. Politicians feel like fish out of water without power and the thought of recovering the money spent on electoral battles weighs heavily on everyone’s mind. It is only when they lose hope in their own party they decide on alternate ways to make it there, even if it means deserting the party.
It’s time Congress goes back to its grass-root workers.
