50% seat demand in Fatorda puts Vijai in focus; raises questions over unity
Congress leaders from South Goa district addressing the media to condemn the BJP for changing the MGNREGA scheme.
MARGAO
The Congress-Goa Forward Party (GFP) alliance is set to face an acid test in the upcoming Margao Municipal Council elections scheduled for April. Political circles are abuzz with speculation over whether the two allies will jointly contest the civic polls under a common alliance banner, as they did during the Zilla Panchayat elections, or use the municipal polls to independently test their strength—particularly in the Margao, Fatorda and Curtorim Assembly segments.
Adding to the debate, members of the South Goa District Congress Committee from the Fatorda Block—Melvin Fernandes and Yogesh Nagvenkar—have submitted what they termed as a strategic proposal to the party high command. They have urged that 50 per cent of the 11 municipal seats in the Fatorda area be allotted to Congress-backed candidates.
The proposal has raised a key question: Will Goa Forward chief and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai concede any of the 11 Fatorda seats—his home turf—to the Congress? Notably, in the 2015 municipal elections, Sardesai’s Fatorda Forward panel swept all 11 wards. In the 2021 polls, GFP-backed candidates won around eight of the 11 seats, reinforcing doubts over whether GFP will part with any seats in the forthcoming elections.
In a representation made to the party leadership, the duo has contended that while the Goa Forward chief is a strong candidate, the Congress though in alliance, must retain its identity by fielding candidates on a joint Congress-Goa Forward panel. They pointed out that the Congress should enter into a discussion with the GFP at this stage itself for allotting seats to the Congress-backed candidates for the forthcoming municipal elections. “This is to safeguard the party’s presence in the constituency to meet with any eventuality in a situation wherein GFP decides to go away from the Congress, which would leave the party in dire straits,” the submission stated.
Referring to the recently held ZP elections, the duo further pointed out how the Congress sacrificed Raia (Curtorim constituency), Poinguinim (Canacona constituency), Corlim (Cumbharjua constituency), Shiroda, Rivona (Sanguem constituency) to the Goa Forward Party (GFP) in these areas, where GFP historically had little to no organisational presence, while they have long been Congress strongholds.
“Since Congress supported GFP in “Congress territory” during the Zilla polls, now the GFP should reciprocate by sharing 50 per cent of the seats in Fatorda for the municipal elections,” they asserted.
Giving a brief analysis of the Congress party base and performance in Fatorda Assembly constituency, they said Fatorda constituency has always been a stronghold of the Indian National Congress, winning the seat on three successive occasions since 1989 until 2002. “However, for the first time, the BJP won in 2002 and retained it in 2007 until it lost to an independent in 2012 Vijai Sardesai who has held it since then under the banner of the Goa Forward Party. The GFP is in alliance with Congress since last election in 2022,” they said.
They added: “Ex-GPCC chief Girish Chodankar and a permanent invitee of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) is a voter of Fatorda constituency. M K Shaikh, Senior Vice President of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) is a PCC delegate from Fatorda constituency. Therefore it is very important to maintain Congress party’s existence in Fatorda.”
They recalled that the Congress took a lead in Fatorda in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections even when Goa Forward was alliance partner of NDA (BJP).
“In the Municipal elections of April 2021 to the Margao Municipal Council which has the Margao, Curtorim and Fatorda Assembly constituencies under its jurisdiction, 17 candidates out of 25 backed by the Congress and Goa Forward swept the polls. The neighbouring Margao constituency is now with the BJP with the defection by the INC elected MLAs switching over,” the representation stated.
New MGNREGA law will hurt unskilled workers: Congress on rollback
MARGAO: The South Goa District Congress Committee has slammed the BJP government for changing the MGNREGA scheme.
Party district Congress chief Savio D’Silva told the media on Saturday that the changeover of the scheme will drastically effect the livelihood of unskilled workers in the rural areas; and will also have a serious effect on the village panchayats as the new scheme shall be fully controlled by the BJP government.
Party leader Savio Coutinho said the Congress party as part of the nationwide protest has placed four demands, including the withdrawal of the VB–G RAM G Act. “The Congress party demands the immediate repeal of the new legislation passed in December 2025, which has replaced the original MGNREGA,” he said.
Coutinho further informed that the Congress has decided to insist on the restoration of MGNREGA as a Rights-Based Law. “The Congress insists on restoring the original MGNREGA in its rights-based form, where the provision of work is a legal guarantee and not subject to government permission or central allocation limits,” he said.
Demanding restoration of the Right to Work and the Constitutional Authority of Panchayats, he said the Congress further seeks to reinstate the people’s right to demand work at any time of the year and restore the authority of the Gram Panchayats in planning and implementing works, which they argue has been undermined by the new, centralised law.
“The fourth demand highlighted a national minimum wage of INR 400 for MGNREGA workers along with guaranteed, timely wage payments,” he added.
