Public and corner meetings organized by arch political rivals “ Joaquim Alemao and Clafacio Dias “ have literally been the order of the day in Cuncolim constituency since the last two months. While Joaquim is trying to make a comeback in the constituency after his defeat at the 2012 hustings, Clafacio appears preparing the ground work to take on the his rival in the coming election.
Both Joaquim and Clafacio are leaving nothing to chance as they battle for the Congress ticket. Joaquim, however, is going to the electorate with the stand that he is not averse to contesting the election as an Independent in the event his claim for the ticket does not find favour with the Congress leadership. On the other hand, having taking a plunge with blessings of the party leadership, Clafacio also does not rule out the possibility of contesting as an Independent after consulting his workers and supporters.
If Joaquim has been organizing corner and ward meetings during the weekend since the last two months, Clafacio got down on the battle field recently with a public meeting in his home village Paroda. While Joaquim is moving around with son Yuri in tow, besides Cuncolim Municipal Chairperson Lavita Mascarenhas and other local leaders, Clafacio is flanked by Congress block president Landry Mascarenhas and PCC vice-president Moti Desai, besides local sarpanchas at the meetings.
Says Joaquim: “We are organising meetings booth and ward wise, interacting with people at the grassroots level. The interactions help us to seek public suggestions so that the same can be included in the election manifesto. This week we are moving in the panchayat wards followed by meetings in the Cuncolim municipal area.”
Joaquim makes no bones of his decision to contest as an independent if denied the party ticket. “My stand is clear. Since I am a Congressman, I will stake claim for the party ticket. But at every meeting, I openly tell people that I will contest as an Independent or any other party banner if denied the ticket.”
That Yuri accompanies Joaquim has indeed triggered speculations that the former Urban Development Minister may field his son in Cuncolim. Joaquim, however, makes no bones of the fact that Yuri will stake claim for the Congress ticket if the leadership insists on fielding only new and young faces.
Clafacio, who is strongly backed by GPCC chief Luizinho Faleiro and Vice-president Moti Desai, for the party ticket is all out to check mate his rival. “I had supported Joaquim in the 2012 election. At that time, Joaquim had publicly declared that it will be his last election and he will support me in the 2017 election. Joaquim might have gone back on his word, but the people of the constituency want me to contest the coming election,” Clafacio said, a claim disputed by the former two-time Cuncolim MLA.
Both Joaquim and Clafacio are leaving nothing to chance to get a holdover of local bodies ahead of the final battle. While Joaquim got the better of his rival in the 2015 election for the Cuncolim civic body, Clafacio still enjoys support from the sarpanchas in the constituency. The recent ouster of Chandor village sarpanch and the election of a new sarpanch owing allegiance to Joaquim explains the political tug of war between the two rivals. The Joaquim camp does not rule out the possibility of two more heads rolling in the coming days in his bid to exercise control over the Panchayat bodies.
As many as four Congressmen, including Joaquim, Clafacio, Adv John Monteiro and former Cuncolim Municipal Chairperson Devendra Desai are vying for the Congress ticket. While Joaquim and Clafacio have kicked off their public meetings, Devendra and Adv Monteiro have opened their offices ahead of the electoral battle.
