Photo caption.
GPCC President Luizinho Faleiro conveys a message to AICC general Secretary Digvijaya Singh while leaving the South Goa district office after the Friday meeting. Santosh Mirajkar
Joseph Silva along with Congress workers on a campaign in Fatorda on Friday.
MARGAO
Call it a sheer coincidence or not, while the Congress top brass descended in Fatorda ostensibly to discuss and resolve the Fatorda tangle on Friday evening, Congress Fatorda candidate Joseph Silva kicked off his campaign around the same time from the ST-dominated areas of Murida and Agalli areas of the constituency.
In another development, at the meeting held at the South Goa District Congress office on Friday evening, former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, a strong votary of the alliance with the Goa Forward party, has told the party leadership that the party should honour its word on the Cong-GFP alliance. Kamat is believed to have cautioned that the Congress may have to face negative publicity during the election campaign if the party fails to honour its commitment on the alliance.
That Joseph kicked off his campaign assumes significance when all eyes are focused on the Congress camp and whether the party leadership will get Joseph withdrawn from the fray before the curtains come down on the withdrawals on Saturday noon.
The Congress top brass led by AICC General Secretary Digvijaya Singh, GPCC Chief Luizinho Faleiro and senior leaders, Pratapsing Rane and Digambar Kamat, besides AICC secretaries Chella Kumar and Girish Chodankar went into a huddle behind closed doors at the South Goa district office to discuss and resolve the Fatorda tangle.
Emerging out of the meeting, the party leaders were tight-lipped over what transpired behind closed doors. While State Congress President Luizinho Faleiro maintained that the meeting took place to coordinate the election campaign, AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh made it abundantly clear to the media that the meeting discussed the Fatorda episode threadbare, but promised to divulge details only on Saturday evening.
Digvijaya’s stand that he would go to the public over the details of the meeting at a media briefing at 4 pm on Saturday evening assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of the fact that curtains on the date of withdrawal of nomination papers ends on Saturday noon.
“We did discuss the Fatorda issue at today’s meeting, but I would address the media on Saturday evening," he said.
When the media sought to know from Faleiro whether he has been given specific instructions by the party leadership to get Joseph out of the fray, the GPCC chief shot back “right now, I am a soldier on the field," indicating that he is preoccupied with the election campaign. “The high command will take the decision on such questions," he added.
In the meantime, Joseph accompanied by local Congress leaders Piedade Noronha, Chidambar Chanekar and others started his campaign in the ST belt of Murida and Agalli after invoking the blessings of the Almighty at a local Cross.
The Congress workers completed a round of door-to-door campaign in these areas and have decided to intensify the electioneering from Saturday as the party has sought permissions from the authorities.
Congress secretary Avinash Tavares said that the Fatorda Congress has not received any communique from the State Congress President Luizinho Faleiro or any other leader to get Joseph withdrawn from the fray.
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MARGAO: Denying that the Congress leadership has demanded that Goa Forward withdraw candidates from Velim and other constituencies, Goa Forward mentor Vijai Sardesai has virtually ruled out the question of withdrawing any of the party candidates in exchange for withdrawing Congress nominee Joseph Silva from Fatorda.
“AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh, who had agreed to leave Fatorda and three other seats for the GFP has not told the party anything till date. Moreover, the question of withdrawal of GFP candidates does not arise as the party has fulfilled its word that the party will contest only in the four seats of Fatorda, Siolim, Velim and Saligao," he said.
Sardesai pointed out that it is purely for the Congress to honour the word of leaving Fatorda seat for the Goa Forward party, reminding that the Congress had went back on its word on the eve of the 2012 Assembly election by denying him the ticket. “If the congress is up to betraying me, I have no problem.L Last time too, the party betrayed me at the eleventh hour, but the people of Fatorda stood by me and gave a befitting answer to the Congress”, Sardesai said, exuding confidence that Fatordekars will teach the Congress a lesson in the February 4 poll.
