the goan I network
MARGAO
Amidst concerns expressed in party quarters with just a month left for campaigning for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Congress is meeting in the national capital on Friday to finalise party candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats in the State.
The delay in the finalisation of the Congress candidates by the CEC has already delayed the party’s campaign, with the probable candidates preferring to wait and watch the unfolding developments in the party. The three front runners for the South Goa seat Francisco Sardinha, GPCC chief Girish Chodankar and Mahila Congress chief Pratima Coutinho have all been waiting for the party leadership in Delhi to declare the candidates before kick-starting their campaign, least their initiative turns out a futile exercise in the event their candidature does not find favour with the CEC.
Citing the case of three-time MP Francisco Sardinha, whose ticket was scuttled by the party leadership in the 2014 Lok Sabha election at the eleventh hour, a senior party leader said the contenders are not ready to kick-start their campaign unless their candidature gets the stamp of approval of the party leadership.
While local party leaders hope that the CEC may finally unveil the names of candidates for the two seats without any further delay, the rank and file of the party in private say the party’s campaign may be hit by time constraints because of the delay in finalising the candidates. “We had been demanding over the last several months to project the probable candidates in advance so that the candidate as well as the party gets enough time to cover the length and breadth of the South Goa constituency,” remarked a party leader.
The CEC to be chaired by Congress President Rahul Gandhi, which is expected to clear the candidates for the North and South Goa Lok Sabha seats was twice rescheduled by the party leaders, first on account of differences of opinion on the candidates for the South Goa Lok Sabha seat, followed by the postponement of the meeting earlier this week after the Congress president headed to the North East for electioneering.
As of now, it’s not yet clear whether the Congress party has overcome the confusion in the party ranks whether a candidate from the majority or minority community should be nominated for the South Goa seat. Sources in the Congress informed that GPCC President Girish Chodankar may turn out the Congress party candidate for South Goa if the party leadership decides to nominate a candidate for South Goa or the race may narrow down between the former MP Sardinha and the Mahila Congress chief Pratima Coutinho if the party opts not to disturb the established norm of leaving the seat for a minority candidate.
