MARGAO
The widening rift between the alliance partners, BJP-MGP may ring in good news for non-BJP parties, including the Congress in Salcete, where as many as eight Assembly seats are at stake.
Non-Congress and non-BJP parties, eager to have a slice of the secular cake in Salcete, however, are wary of the Congress leadership. They are worried that any move by the principal opposition party to ignore calls for an alliance with other parties may spell danger for the non-BJP parties to come to power in the 2017 Assembly election. It is also feared in political circles that certain sections of the Congress leadership, opposed to the grand alliance with smaller parties, may be further emboldened to go alone in the coming election in the event the BJP and the MGP breaks the alliance.
Be it the Nationalist Congress Party and the regional Goa Forward Party or the United Goans Democratic Party, party leaders feel that miscalculation by the Congress leadership that the party can return to power on its own without an alliance may prove counter-productive.
NCP leader and former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao said that with the ruling alliance in trouble, there’s a chance for the non-BJP parties to return to power. He, however, hastened to sound a note of caution. He said the Congress should lead the way by forging an alliance with the smaller political parties to prevent a division in the vote. “The Congress party should engage with the political parties on forging an alliance ahead of the 2017 Assembly election. The main opposition party should not be under an impression that it can return to power without an alliance,” asserted Churchill, who shares close rapport with Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Luizinho Faleiro.
In fact, Churchill said he has already briefed the GPCC chief on the emerging political situation and how an alliance of non-BJP parties can help dislodge the BJP from power.
Goa Forward Party mentor, MLA Vijai Sardesai pointed out that merely because the BJP-MGP alliance has hit the rocks, will not guarantee return of the non-BJP parties back to power. “If someone believes that the BJP-MGP will pave the way for the return of the Congress back to power, they are living in a fool’s paradise,” Sardesai said.
He reiterated his stand that only a grand alliance of non-BJP parties will help defeat the BJP in the coming election. “No one should think that any single party can take the place of the BJP after the coming election. I only hope the Congress leadership will see the ground reality and not take decisions that might create obstacles on the road to success,” he said.
UGDP ideologue Radharao Gracias pointed out that the Congress should place before the people of Salcete in particular and Goa in general an undisputed leader who can inspire confidence ahead of the election. “Certainly, the Congress may gain in some seats if the BJP and MGP decides to go separate. That by itself may not bring the Congress back to power unless the party leadership takes note of the ground reality,” Radharao said.
As many as half-a-dozen political parties, besides Independents, including three sitting MLAs will be vying for a slice of the cake in the battle for the eight Assembly seats in Salcete. While the Aam Aadmi Party has disclosed plans to contest all the eight seats, the NCP has zeroed in on the two seats of Benaulim and Nuvem. The Goa Forward Party has set its eyes firmly on Fatorda, Velim and Navelim.
Besides, these political outfits will have to also contend with the Mickky Pacheco-led Goa Su-Raj Party or the Goa Vikas Party and not to mention the three MLAs, Avertano Furtado, Benjamin D’Silva and Caitu Silva, who have disclosed plans to seek re-election as independent candidates.
