MARGAO
On paper, the Congress and the Goa Forward Party (GFP) contested the recently concluded Zilla Panchayat elections as allies, stitching together a pre-poll alliance to prevent a split in the non-BJP vote and challenge the ruling BJP.
However, a day after the alliance virtually swept the polls in Salcete”winning eight of the nine seats”the Goa Forward Party leadership and several of its unsuccessful candidates are grappling with a critical question: Was the Congress“GFP alliance truly effective, or did it remain largely confined to paper rather than translating into coordinated action on the ground?
Reports emanating from the Goemkar Ghor, Goa Forward party headquarters, reveal that the party not only had to contend with Congress rebels in the fray, but there was no coordinated action between the two parties on the ground to take on the opponents.
Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai publicly admitted that the alliance failed to percolate down to the grassroots level, resulting in inadequate support for GFP candidates from Congress workers. He cited the Raia Zilla Panchayat seat as a case in point. While the Goa Forward Party eventually won the seat”ending the 20-year dominance of the influential Dominick Gaonkar family”the victory did not come easy.
Ironically, the biggest challenge did not come from the Gaonkar family, the Aam Aadmi Party, or the Revolutionary Goans Party, but from Independent candidate Joana Fernandes. Fernandes had been a strong Congress aspirant for the Raia seat before it was allotted to the Goa Forward Party under the Congress“GFP alliance.
Much to the surprise of many, including Goa Forward leaders, Joana Fernandes finished runner-up with a significant 2,357 votes. This has raised questions within political circles about whether Congress leaders made any serious attempt to persuade her to withdraw from the contest, or whether sections of the Congress tacitly supported her despite the pre-poll alliance with the Goa Forward Party.
Raia is not an isolated case. Several Goa Forward candidates have since informed party leadership that they did not receive the expected support from Congress workers while contesting against the BJP. “We have conveyed to party president Vijai Sardesai that Goa Forward candidates did not get support on the ground when fighting the BJP,” said one candidate who attended a review meeting at Goenkar Ghor, Fatorda, on Tuesday to assess the post-election scenario.
Sardesai acknowledged these concerns, reiterating that the alliance failed to reach the grassroots. “Some candidates have conveyed that the Congress rank and file did not support alliance candidates. I have already said that the Congress“GFP alliance did not percolate down. We will take stock of the situation along with the Congress leadership,” he said.
He added that the core issue was not merely whether Congress backed GFP candidates, but whether the alliance itself came too late. “We will review the situation and take corrective steps. I am in touch with the Congress leadership and we will discuss this matter,” Sardesai said.
According to him, the Goa Forward Party could have won a couple more seats if not for Congress rebel candidates contesting against alliance nominees. “The alliance was finalised late, and there was no time to ensure that rebel candidates withdrew from the fray,” he explained.
Sardesai also pointed out that Congress and Goa Forward were engaged in “friendly fights” in the Corlim and Morjim constituencies. “The results showed that Goa Forward finished second to the BJP, indicating that we could have won these seats had the Congress conceded them to us,” he said.
Huddle to analyse
shortcomings
The Goa Forward party leadership on Tuesday went into a huddle with all the nine candidates, who had contested the just concluded Zilla Panchayat election to do a review and to take corrective measures.
The Goa Forward had contested elections in nine ZP seats as part of the Congress-GFP pact and managed to win the lone Raia seat.
After the meeting, Goa Forward party chief Vijai Sardesai told the media that the meeting with the candidates was called to analyse the party’s shortcomings in the constituencies and to express the party’s solidarity with the candidates.
“The meeting has been called to express our solidarity with the candidates and workers. We cannot ignore them and we will continue to raise their issues at various forums. We have to rally behind the candidates and workers to ensure they do not receive threats and pressures from the government”, he said.
Saying the party has taken reports from the candidates and workers on the ground situation in all the nine ZP constituencies, Sardesai said the party will compile the reports and initiate necessary action.
