MARGAO
With the election Code of Conduct expected to come into force any time from now, the Congress ticket distribution scene shifts to Delhi in the New Year two days from now, even as Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Luizinho Faleiro asserted on Sunday he is committed to impress upon the party high command to field more than 50 per cent young and new faces in 2017 poll.
However, with more than one ticket aspirant in most of the Assembly constituencies, the party leadership may delay declaration of candidates by a couple of days to check rebellion by unsuccessful aspirants.
The names shortlisted by the Pradesh Election Committee will be screened by the screening panel headed by Venugopal before the shortlisted names go to the Congress Central Election Committee headed by Party President Sonia Gandhi.
Faleiro and Leader of the Opposition, Pratapsing Rane, who are both members of the screening panel, are expected to leave for Delhi on Tuesday. A sub-committee of party leaders, including former chief ministers, Ravi Naik and Digambar Kamat, may also head to the national capital and give their inputs on the choice of candidates in some of the constituencies.
Sources said the possibility of some of the ticket aspirants heading to the national capital to lobby hard in support of their candidatures is not ruled out, though party leaders made it clear that it would be an exercise in futility if the probable candidates plan a trip to Delhi.
In the meantime, Faleiro said that he will lobby hard with the high command to give more than 50 per cent tickets to the new and young faces and fulfill the popular sentiments of the people of Goa. “I have made myself very clear and I would like to reiterate that I would press hard with the Congress leadership in Delhi to field more than 50 per cent new and young faces in the coming poll,” Faleiro told The Goan.
“People of Goa are looking at the Congress party with hope. They want the party to bring in new faces in the coming election. As the president of the Congress party, I will place the sentiments of the people of Goa before the party leadership,” Faleiro said, while exuding confidence that the Congress leadership will give due weightage to new faces at the time of selection of candidates.
