MARGAO
As fears as raised within the principal Opposition that the minorities may get further alienated with the community going without representation in the top party echelons, All India Congress Committee (AICC) Goa desk in-charge, Dinesh Gundu Rao tried to reach out to the crucial party voter base, saying all sections of society, including the minorities, will get representation in the party.
Before leaving the State after his four-day visit, Gundu Rao told The Goan at the South Goa district office on Sunday that the party is working out combinations wherein representations will be giving to various sections of people.
He made this statement when The Goan drew his attention to reports emanating from the Congress that the party core voter base, minorities may further get disillusioned and alienated from the party ahead of the 2022 election when the community presently has no place amongst the top two posts, Congress Legislature Party and Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC), besides heads of frontal organizations.
When The Goan asked the Goa desk in-charge to comment on reports that the party is toying with the idea of nominating two working presidents to accommodate the interests of minority community,
Gundu Rao neither denied nor confirmed the reports, only saying that all combination and proposals are being worked out.
With reports emanating from the Congress camp that the party may not disturb the status quo and both GPCC Chief Ghodankar and CLP leader Digambar Kamat may remain in the saddle, senior party leaders, especially from the minority camp are believed to have insisted to give adequate representation to the minorities if the party hopes to garner the much-needed seats.
Against the backdrop of reports doing the rounds in the Congress party that minorities no more constitute majority vote in South Goa, minority community leaders in private have expressed fears that failure to provide adequate representation to the community in the scheme of things, may affect the party’s prospects in the coming election. In fact, a senior minority community leader quipped that the Catholic community may not constitute the majority in South Goa, but hastened to pose a question whether the Congress can hope to return to power without winning majority seats from the minority heartland of Salcete.
“When other parties are on the job to woo the minorities ahead of 2022, the Congress should not lose sight of the fact that the Catholic community has been the traditional base of the party, even though the community may not be in a majority in South Goa”, remarked the senior leader, only hoping that better sense would prevail before the party leadership ahead of the 2022 election.
