PANAJI
Stung by the en-masse defection, the beleaguered Congress in Goa got into a rebuild mode naming block chiefs in 22 of the State's 40 assembly segments but left out six constituencies of the eight represented by the defectors.
The party's senior vice-president M K Shaikh in a statement said the convenors for 22 Block committees have been appointed by the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee.
However Calangute, Cumbharjua, Santa Cruz, Nuvem, Margao and Mormugao, six of the eight constituencies represented by the defector legislators do not figure in the list of 22 where the GPCC named convenors.
Of the eight, only Siolim (Delilah Lobo) and Saligao (Kedar Naik) have got convenors for the block committees picked by the GPCC.
In Calangute, represented by former Opposition Leader, Michael Lobo, the entire Congress block committee had quit following the party's decision to admit and nominate him as the party candidate prior to the February assembly elections.
Congress sources said, in the balance five assembly segments of the defectors, the party is yet to confirm which of its members have stayed put and who have moved out with the MLAs.
Defections are not new to the grand old party here in Goa, having been both a beneficiary and a victim, of the political malaise multiple times since it first stormed to power more than four decades ago in 1980s.
But from the time its political domination in the State began to wane at the turn of the millenium, the Congress has been more a victim and a beneficiary on a solitary occasion in 2005.
More recently, it has witnessed a series of desertions since the 2017 Assembly election results after it failed to grab power despite emerging the single largest party.
It has also lost most of its stalwarts since 2017 -- three former chief ministers Pratapsing Rane, Luizinho Faleiro and Ravi Naik. More recently (September 14) Digambar Kamat became yet another former chief minister to quit, leaving South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha to be the only senior leader with the ex-CM title.
The last round of defections also dealt the party a severe blow, with a homegrown youth leader joining the defecting party -- Mormugao MLA, Sankalp Amonkar -- leaving current GPCC chief Amit Patkar and the leadership team with no option but to start from scratch and rebuild the organisation.
Patkar, meanwhile, continues to put up a brave front it is going to be a new team now, and that they will come up with plans and strategies to win the people's trust again.
True to his word, barring a couple, the convenors named for the 22 blocks are all first-timers: (North Goa) Mandrem - Narayan Redkar; Pernem - Rudresh H Deshprabhu; Bicholim - Manoj Naik; Mapusa - Shashank Narvekar; Siolim - Parvati Nagvekar; Saligao - Atul Naik; Aldona - Ashwin De Souza; Taleigao - Dnyaneshwar Govekar; St Andre - Manoj Palkar; Sanquelim - Mangaldas Naik; Priol - Harshad Bhonsle.
(South Goa): Ponda - William Aguiar; Shiroda - Hemant Samant; Marcaim - Dnyaneshwar P Borkar; Dabolim - Vasant Naik; Cortalim - Peter D'souza; Navelim - Peter Couthino; Cuncolim - Assiz Noronha; Velim - Francisco Rodrigues; Quepem - Avadoot Amonkar; Curchorem- Parag Sabnis; Sanvordem - Jayesh Patil.
