The Congress in Goa isn’t exactly in the pink of health. Although the local unit launched its campaign with an impressive rally in the South, a vertical split in the party, with just three months to go before polls are held, is having an adverse impact on the ground. A large segment of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) is not on the same page as the party organization led by Luizinho Faleiro. A meeting held by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi to patch things up and discuss the possibility of an alliance did not go very well. Vishwajit Rane, who is reportedly toying with the idea of leaving the Congress and forming a political party of his own, stayed away from the meet. Jennifer Monserrate did not attend while Pandurang Madkaikar, who has received offers from the MGP and BJP, also stayed away from the meeting. The case of Mauvin Godinho donning saffron colours while still in the Congress has been well documented. So of the eight members in the CLP, only four attended. Of these, Aleixo Reginaldo is a critic of the GPCC president and is rooting for new faces and an alliance, and Babu Kavlekar has only one foot in the party. The only two CLP members who appear to be firmly in the party are Pratapsing Rane and Digambar Kamat.
This is certainly not a happy picture for the Congress. Although the party prepared an impressive chargesheet against the government it has not been able to create the impression that it wants to win the next elections or is capable of taking on the BJP-MGP combine. The general perception among the voters is that the opposition is fragmented and too weak to put up a fight. At present, the opposition space is being occupied by Goa Forward, Aam Aadmi Party, the Congress and a sprinkling of independent candidates. Among them, the Congress is the clear leader, but its inability to put together a coalition is taking its toll. On the contrary, it has sent a very clear message that it wants to go it alone. News trickling from the Delhi meeting chaired by Rahul Gandhi gives one the impression that the plan of forming a grand alliance is still on the backburner.
The larger problem facing the Congress is news that more than half the members in the CLP might desert the party in a bid to be on the winning side post 2017. It is becoming increasingly clear that even the elected Congress MLAs have written off the party as a winner. When people who are capable of winning an election and have proved their mettle at the polls start leaving the ship, the impression that voters get is of a sinking ship. Grand alliance apart, the party must reach out to the disgruntled MLAs and bridge the trust gap before it is too late. The Congress must realise that there is a Goa, and a much larger one, that lies beyond Salcete.
