In what could be termed as quixotic plan of action, Congress party appears to have strategically sidelined its own block workers in Panaji while stepping into the fray for elections to the Corporation of City of Panaji.
While several Congress workers from Panaji spoke about being downcast after the exit of Surendra Furtado from Congress’ dreams of casting siege on CCP, numerous others highlighted the complete disconnect between Congress Panaji Block and its mother ship since the appointment of Goa Pradesh General Secretary Vijai Pai as in-charge for Panaji constituency last year.
The 35-member Panaji Congress Block has reportedly lodged complaints in the past with GPCC president Luizinho Faleiro against the said general secretary casting suspicions over his alliances and alleging his allegiance to the current ruling party. Resentment continues to run high and the party has continued to turn a blind eye even in the face of civic polls in the city.
Speaking on conditions of anonymity, one Congress worker said, “We had expected Surendra to be the face of Congress’ CCP campaign because he was the party’s face for recent bypolls in Panaji. A strong team had been created since then under him.”
Another Congressman highlighted that apart from Jessica Menezes in ward 29 and Mukta Fondvekar in ward 30, none of the 22 members on Congress-backed panel were known to the Panaji Block Congress. These two candidates are members of the block, it was informed.
While the higher ups in Congress assume the support of Congress workers in Panaji for campaigning for the civic polls, majority workers have begged to differ.
“With Surendra gone, many of our workers dissociated with the campaign and because none of us were asked to get involved in the CCP campaign, many others left. They did not want to campaign for people they did not know,” it was informed.
