MARGAO
A war within the Congress is underway in party stronghold Velim as candidates jostle and outwit each other with an eye on the crucial party nomination for the prized ticket to contest the 2022 Assembly polls.
A drive down the Velim road from Dramapur-Chinchinim-Assolna bears testimony to the intense war amongst the claimants as the race for the ticket has intensified in the last leg of the campaign before the election scheduled for early 2022.
So far, ticket aspirants, district Congress Chief Joe Dias, former MLA Benjamin D’Silva, Velim Sarpanch Savio D’Silva and former Sarzora Sarpanch Sabita Mascarenhas have not lost a single opportunity to knock the doors of all and sundry in support of their ticket claim.
On the ground too, the situation is no different. The four aspirants are involved in a no holds barred banner war, each trying to outwit the other and attract the attention of the voters and party leaders.
Hoardings put up by the aspirants have come up. For a few days, the entire Velim road passing through Chinchinim wore a festive look with party flags flying high all along the stretch, before miscreants lifted away the flag stands.
In fact, the ticket aspirants have made the task of the party observers, drafted to zero in on the candidates easy. For, each of the contenders has come up with banners with messages why they should be considered for the prized ticket.
Take the case of Velim Sarpanch, Savio D’Silva, a strong contender for the Congress ticket. His banner states “Savio for Velim. A man with a vision and on a mission to transfer Velim, Vote for Savio”.
Drive further down the road, and you would come across another banner of Savio that reads as “Savio for Velim, Strong leadership is what we need for better Velim constituency”.
South Goa district Congress president Joe Dias did not lag. His banners and hoardings make a strong case for the ticket by laying stress on loyalty.
One of his banners says it all “Loyal face for Velim, Joe Dias. Undisputable integrity, Acceptability to the people and loyalty to the party, the only choice for Velim”.
An odd banner of the lone woman ticket aspirant, Sabita Mascarenhas and former MLA Benjamin D’Silva has also come up along the road. Though low key, Sabita’s banner conveys a strong message why a woman should be considered for the Congress ticket. “A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everyone else. Sabita Mascarenhas for Velim constituency”, reads her banner.
On the other hand, stressing on development and counting on his developed work executed during his stint as MLA in 2012, former MLA Benjamin’s banners read like this “Benjamin for Development”.
Velim constituency is one seat in minority Salcete, where the party leadership is yet to give any indications of its choice of candidate for 2022. In fact, all the ticket aspirants have not lost hope of getting party nomination, only making the task of the leadership tough, forcing the leadership to tread a cautious path
Incidentally, candidates Joe Dias and Savio D’Silva were active on social media on Thursday as they extended birthday wishes to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. And, the ticket aspirants are all believed to have mobilized their supporters and workers at Assolna where Congress charismatic leader Priyanka Gandhi will be visiting the village to pay respects to the freedom fighters during her day-long election campaign in South Goa.
