MARGAO
Mind games, a show of brinkmanship, hard bargaining et al have all come into play as top anti-BJP leaders descended on the state during the weekend, but the picture as far as the Opposition alliance
is concerned still looks hazy and a roadmap to oust the BJP seems unclear.
From its avowed stand of having no truck with the regional players, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress seem to have expressed their willingness to work with regional players during the visit of national leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Didi during the weekend.
Didi’s plan to unite the regional players to take on the BJP is being seen as a sign of willingness from the TMC to do business with the local parties, which, sources said, had already paved the way for the Goa Forward leadership to call on the TMC supremo for discussions on Saturday morning.
By evening, Rahul Gandhi’s top aides and observers for Goa were drafted to engage with the Goa Forward Leadership late Saturday to explore the possibility of stitching an alliance.
Sources, however, said the discussions did not make much headway as the Congress was reportedly willing to concede only the three seats of Fatorda, Siolim and Saligao represented by the Goa Forward MLAs. The Congress, sources said, is willing to discuss on 2-3 other seats with the GFP, but the party has not identified these three seats yet.
This offer made by the Congress, however, has fueled suspicion in the GFP camp, and the offer is being seen by the party leadership as one aimed at luring its candidates to the side of the principal
Opposition party. This has only brought the same old question to the fore, whether the two parties will come together to unitedly fight the coming elections.
TMC leader Mamata Didi’s move to unite the regional parties has indeed raised many an eyebrow in political circles, as it has raised questions whether the political party, which till recently announced its decision to contest all the 40 seats, is now ready for a tie-up with the regional players.
Didi’s call for unity amongst regional players, sources said, has also given some leverage to the regional players on the negotiating table. Sources say the regional players now have been left with an option, to tie up with the Congress on its terms or go for a grand alliance with the TMC to take on both the Congress and the BJP in the coming polls.
“The picture still looks hazy. The two key regional players, MGP and Goa Forward, are yet to firmly decide how they would go about in the coming polls. It’s still not clear whether the MGP leadership is
still keeping the option open to forge a pre-poll alliance with the BJP or the Goa Forward has rejected the Congress offer of three seats. “All the political players seem to be playing mind games and are into hard bargaining,” informed sources, adding that a clear picture may emerge by Diwali festival with the key players still weighing options.
