MARGAO
On the eve of Congress screening meeting for candidate selection in Delhi on Wednesday, a host of questions have come to the fore both within and outside the Congress camp in Salcete where as many as eight Assembly seats are at stake.
Even as the road appears clear in four out of the eight Assembly constituencies, especially for the two sitting MLAs Digambar Kamat and Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco in Margao and Curtorim respectively, besides GPCC president Luizinho Faleiro in Navelim and Filipe Neri Rodrigues in Velim, while many questions remain unanswered in the remaining four constituencies of Benaulim, Cuncolim, Nuvem and Fatorda.
One, how will the Congress leadership grapple with claims and counter claims for tickets by party veterans and new faces, especially in Cuncolim and Nuvem? And, whether the party will go ahead and shortlist candidates for the three seats of Benaulim, Nuvem and Fatorda, where like-minded parties have staked claim in the event of an alliance.
Take the case of the Cuncolim and Nuvem constituencies, where heavyweights Joaquim Alemao and Alexio Sequeira respectively, are facing a stiff challenge from the Young Turks, Clafacio Dias and Wilfred D’Sa respectively, backed and supported by Congress faction led by GPCC president Luizinho Faleiro. Both Clafacio and Wilfred have been groomed by the party leadership over the last one year by Faleiro and his group. Political observers say it remains to be seen whether the party leadership will ignore the veterans this time round to make way for the young blood.
The scenario appears somewhat different in neighbouring Benaulim. A total of three candidates have staked claim for the party ticket, including block president, Edwin Barretto, former Varca sarpanch Anthony Pinto and three-time ZP member Maria Rebello. Amidst the claims and counter claims for the party ticket, the NCP has staked claim for the Benaulim seat for veteran and former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao. While the Congress screening panel headed by Venugopal is expected to screen the claims of Edwin, Anthony and Maria, backed and promoted by different party leaders, the moot question that has remained unanswered is whether the Congress will reject the NCP alliance offer and field a formidable candidate to take on the might of the former PWD Minister.
A similar scenario has emerged in Nuvem Assembly constituency, where former Power Minister Aleixo Sequeira and strong contender Wilfred are vying for the Congress ticket, amidst claim by the NCP over the seat. In fact, like in Benaulim, the NCP has already declared Vincent Rodrigues as the party candidate for Nuvem, raising question whether the Congress will prefer to go alone in Nuvem or sacrifice the seat for the NCP.
Incidentally, even as the screening panel is expected to scan the background of the host of ticket aspirants for Fatorda constituency, question is again asked within the Congress and outside whether the party will shortlist and field a candidate to take on the Goa Forward mentor or stitch an alliance with the Independent MLA Vijai Sardesai.
Senior Congress leaders in private said the screening panel will have no role to play to take a call on questions centered on alliance, but admitted that the party leadership in Delhi will have to make a call on the alliance sooner rather than later. “The panel will only screen the candidates, their background and after compiling a report will place the same before the Central Election Committee headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi,” remarked a senior party leader.
