MARGAO
“Will the present Congress leadership own responsibility for the party’s pathetic performance in the Zilla Panchayat polls? or “is the absence of a Catholic face in the party alienating the minorities from the Congress”, or “was the decision to contest the ZP polls against the advice of senior MLAs a bad one, considering that even the party’s booths were not in place in many areas? Or, “is the Congress party facing a trust-deficit with its traditional voters?
Indeed, these and several other questions have come to haunt the main opposition party, a day after the Zilla Panchayat debacle has left an eerie silence in the Congress party.
Both Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat and GPCC Chief Girish Chodankar, who led the party’s campaign in the Zilla Panchayat election, said they own responsibility for the party’s debacle.
Kamat went to the extent of saying that he is ready to step down from office if the party leadership tells him to do so.
The duo, however, were not ready to accept reports doing the rounds in the Congress that the absence of a Catholic face in the party has alienated the minorities from the party, especially in Salcete. They did not accept the view that they cannot get votes for the party in the minority areas, saying some of the party candidates had lost the election by wafer-thin margins.
“I do not accept the view that the minorities have gone away from the party just because the top two posts of CLP and GPCC are being held by the leaders from the majority community. When I was the Chief Minister, Subhash Shirodkar was the GPCC Chief and we had swept many an election”. Kamat recalled.
GPCC Chief Girish Chodankar also echoed similar sentiments. He recalled that the party was headed by Nirmala Sawant when Pratapsing Rane was the Chief Minister, while scoffing at reports that minorities are moving away from the party since the party is being led by him and Digambar Kamat.
Both, however, underlined the immediate need to rebuild the party, right from the booths. “If you see the ZP results, Congress candidates did not lose without a fight. We have to assess the situation and take remedial measures to strengthen the party at the grass-roots”, Kamat said.
Girish also batted for the strengthening of booths as the only way to rebuild the party and brace for the 2022 Assembly election. “There were many non-existent booths, which will be revived immediately. We cannot rebuild the party sans the booths”, he added.
Both Kamat and Girish did not accept that the decision to contest the ZP polls has cost the party dearly in the election. “I don’t agree with this view in the party. If the Congress had not to contest, the Aam Aadmi Party would have gone all out to take our place. Our rivals would have accused the party for running away from the field”, Kamat said.
Girish also echoed the same view. “The Congress is a political party and it cannot run away from contesting an election. At least now, we have come to know our strength and weaknesses across the state. If we take corrective steps, we will overcome so many issues facing the party”, he added, while defending the GPCC’s decision to contest the ZP polls on the party banner when a couple of senior party leaders had expressed their strong reservations.
The GPCC Chief was candid in admitting that the Congress is facing a trust deficit since the time the 10-party MLAs left the party. “This had a bearing on the ground. People’s trust in the Congress appears to have been shaken up. They question whether our candidates, if elected, will remain with the party”, he added.
