the goan I network
MARGAO
Former Chief Minister and strong contender for the post of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president, Digambar Kamat has sounded the poll bugle as he exhorted party workers to remain on guard and gear up for mid-term poll in the State, saying the election for the Goa Legislative Assembly may even come in October-November this year, much before 2019.
That’s not all. The six-time Congress MLA has told the party workers that while he would not lobby for the GPCC post, he would not shy away from taking over the responsibility if handed over to him by the party leadership. He sounded a word of caution to his close supporters that they would have to work hard in the event he is entrusted the responsibility of leading the Congress party as his presence would be required across the State and not just in Margao.
Kamat was addressing Congress workers of the Margao block as part of his routine interactions with party rank and file at the grassroot level. This is not the first time that Kamat has urged party workers from Margao to gear up to face a possible mid-term election along with the Lok Sabha election. However, unlike last time round, when he had urged workers on his birthday earlier this month on March 8 to get ready for the mid-term polls, the six-time Margao MLA now apparently feels that the Assembly election can be advanced as early as October this year instead of 2019.
Without going into the reason behind his statement urging workers to get ready for the mid-term poll, Kamat told The Goan that there’s a general perception that Assembly polls for the Goa Legislative Assembly will be held along with the 2019 Lok Sabha election in view of the prevailing politics in the State. “I have only urged the workers to gear up for the electoral battle so that they are not caught off guard in the event the State goes for mid-term election in 2019 or later this year,” Kamat said.
Sources told The Goan that a section of local Congress leaders apparently believe that the BJP at the Centre may advance the Lok Sabha election to October 2018 along with the Assembly election for the Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and other State Assemblies. “Reports emanating from Delhi speak about the Centre advancing Lok Sabha election to October-November in 2018 so that election for the Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and other states where BJP is ruling are held along with the Lok Sabha poll. In such an eventuality, the BJP leadership may be tempted to go in for mid-term election for the Goa Legislative Assembly as well. If local Congress leaders have decided to stand guard to face any eventuality is a good sign and only goes to show
that the Congress leaders as well as the party rank and file are all ready to face any election thrust on them by the Centre,” remarked a senior
Congress leader.
