Margao MLA Digambar Kamat’s visit to Delhi set the rumour mill rolling with speculations of the veteran Congress leader making a move to leave his party and join the BJP. The four factors that triggered reports of Kamat exiting Congress are “ his Delhi trip, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant still keeping the three slots vacant in his cabinet despite zeroing down on the legislators, the non-allocation of important Power portfolio that has been associated with Digambar in the past, and finally, the fact the former Opposition leader was visibly upset over the high command replacing him as the Congress Legislative Party Leader.
Whatever the reasoning, Kamat has managed to conceal his despondency by thanking the high command over his new appointment as a permanent member of the All India Congress Working Committee through a tweet, and readily acknowledging greetings from the newly elected leaders Michael Lobo and Amit Patkar, cheerfully. However, despondency in him is as clear as daylight. A sense of realisation has dawned on him that perhaps he may not have been the chief ministerial face if Congress had crossed the magic figure because nowhere during the campaign was he projected as one.
The questions that are playing on Kamat’s mind are enough to confirm the theory that he is disappointed over the recent developments in the party, and while he may have discarded the reports in the national media about his entry into the BJP as baseless, the bitterness tells a different story. Kamat understands that he has been dropped because of the electoral debacle and that he has been given CWC membership to assuage his sentiments, and that brings a cloud of uncertainty to the script.
In another surprise move, eyebrows were raised in the Congress camp when the newly elected party MLA from Cumbharjua, Rajesh Faldesai, visited the Panaji headquarters of the BJP on their foundation day event and cited it as a personal gesture because of his ties with the chief minister.
Congress appears to be disintegrating once again and it appears the appointment of the new leadership has not gone down well with a section of the party. Questions are being raised over the criteria being followed while deciding on a generational change in leadership. The rank and file of the party remain shaken with sections taking positions, and once again the cracks within are exposed.
Kamat may have attributed his Delhi trip as personal, but senior politicians are known for not revealing their cards when making key moves. While the winds of change are beginning to blow again, the Congress leadership must move quickly to defuse the crisis and restore the confidence of Kamat and others. An exodus at this stage will be disastrous for the party which is in a rebuilding mode. Congress cannot afford to lose any of the legislators from its flock, especially Kamat, a senior leader who has played a sheet anchor role in times of crisis.
