PANAJI
The Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) which met in Delhi on Wednesday has reportedly discussed and finalised its candidates for the North and South Goa Lok Sabha seats but an announcement is only expected by Thursday afternoon.
Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao who is in Delhi told The Goan that Goa was the first of five States taken up for discussion by the CEC.
"The announcement should come by tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon," Alemao said.
Alemao, GPCC president Amit Patkar and Quepem MLA, Altone D'Costa were summoned to Delhi by the Congress central leadership to assist the CEC in the process for finalising the candidates for the two seats on Tuesday.
Sources said the party is factoring in the development of rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominating Pallavi Dempo for South Goa in its strategy to pick its own candidate.
Hitherto, incumbent MP, Francisco Sardinha, Captain Viriato Fernandes and Girish Chodankar were said to be in the reckoning for the nomination, not necessarily in that order.
Patkar and Alemao are also in the zone of consideration, it is being reported.
For North Goa, former Union Minister, Ramakant Khalap, party General Secretary Vijay Bhike and Vice President Sunil Khautankar are said to be in the fray.
Goa is set to vote in the third phase on May 7 and the beleaguered Congress, weakened by the mass defection to the BJP of eight of its 11 MLAs including most of its top leaders in September 2022, is making an all out effort to retain its space in Goa's politics.
It has managed to strike a deal with most other Opposition parties and unite under the INDIA alliance -- Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Goa Forward Party (GFP), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), Shiv Sena (UBT) and TMC.
All the alliance partners agreed to Congress fighting both the seats.
While the electoral fight will be in the main between the ruling BJP and the Congress, the regional Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) is also fielding candidates in both seats -- its President Manoj Parab for North and Rupert Pereira in South Goa.
