The stand taken by All India Congress Committee general secretary Digvijaya Singh that the party would go it alone in the 2017 Assembly polls has taken all those seeking an alliance by surprise. Now, it seems, Singh and State party president Luizinho Faleiro are on the same page. This was the position taken by Faleiro long back. Even though he did give the matter some thought after Nitish Kumar pulled off a brilliant victory in Bihar, his response was, “With whom do we align?”
Speaking to the media, Singh said the party would contest all 40 seats and those wishing to join should contest on the Congress symbol. “We are not going to be pressurised or blackmailed. Whether we win or lose, we want dedicated Congressmen on our tickets,” said Singh. These brave words would have suited a political party that was in its prime. The Congress, on the contrary, has been on the decline since 2014 and elections in the next four states will prove if it is capable of making a comeback.
The idea of a grand alliance arrived in Goa via Bihar. Kumar, who had split from the BJP succeeded in forging an alliance with his enemy Laloo Prasad Yadav. The result was an alliance of eight parties with the Congress and NCP also joining hands. Goa is not Bihar but there are similarities. By stitching an alliance with MGP, BJP has succeeded in keeping the Bahujan Samaj within the fold. The Congress, on the other hand is not only losing vote banks but MLAs as well. It has not be able to project itself as a winner and no one on the outside takes the process of selection of candidates seriously because everyone knows that the final decision will be taken by the high command and there is every possibility of people, whose names do not feature in the list, being given tickets.
No political party fights an election to lose, and Singh’s statement that it doesn’t matter if the party wins or loses will demoralise workers further. The process of selection of candidates should eventually lead to victory or it will be worthless. On the contrary, what Singh has virtually hinted that the process of selection of candidates is more important than winning the election, unless the Congress has concluded that it cannot win in 2017.
The reason why the Congress has taken refuge in the candidate selection process is because it lacks a leader of mass appeal. In Bihar, Laloo Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar were established leaders and it was their coming together that upset the BJP applecart. In Goa, the leaders are outside the Congress and those who could have led the charge from within are being undermined. The BJP is not at its peak in the State. There is resentment and disenchantment. The Congress is still seen as the main political party in the opposition but it lacks the gravitas to unite the opposition and project itself as a winner and this could be its undoing.
