Rajya Sabha election: On whose side is Churchill?

the goan I networkrMARGAO rIn which political grouping is Nationalist Congress Party Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao aligned with in the Goa Legislative Assembly -- the Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar-led coalition government, the opposition Congress, or is he simply toeing an independent line? rWith election for the lone Rajya Sabha seat scheduled ten days from now, soon to be followed by the Presidential election, this question has come to the fore in the state’s political circles as the Benaulim MLA has been found virtually oscillating between the two camps since March 11. rIndeed, post-March 11, Churchill’s first love was the Congress party in his anxiety to form the government, probably under the leadership of outgoing Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Luizinho Faleiro, who returned back to state electoral politics from Navelim constituency. rBut, with the Congress faltering in cobbling up the required numbers to form the government, the NCP MLA soon changed gears. Citing pressure from his supporters and workers, Churchill extended support to the Manohar Parrikar-led government on the development plank. His honeymoon, however, with the ruling dispensation was short-lived. With the NCP leadership mulling action against him for extending support to the coalition government sans the party’s nod, a cautious Churchill again did a re-think. This became evident when he abstained from casting his vote in the elections for the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly. rChurchill is now back in focus with the Rajya Sabha election scheduled soon, and the ruling and opposition camps expected to leave no stone unturned to win the lone seat. rAware that his vote may prove crucial in a close contest, Churchill is keeping his cards close to his chest, even though the BJP leaders are believed to have sent feelers seeking his support for Vinay Tendulkar’s candidature. Once beaten, twice shy, Churchill now says that he will go by the diktat of the NCP national leadership. r“I do not want to say anything on the ensuing Rajya Sabha election. All I want to say is that I will go by the decision of the NCP leadership and vote accordingly,” Churchill said. rApart from the Rajya Sabha election, questions are also doing the rounds in Salcete countryside whether the lone NCP legislator representing Benaulim is on the side of the treasury benches in the Assembly, or if he has joined the opposition ranks, or will he toe an independent political line both within the Assembly and outside. rIt is an open secret that Churchill’s first choice in the formation of the government post-March 11 was the Congress party. No sooner the Assembly election results began to trickle on March 11 evening, sources say Churchill had even managed to bring in an Independent MLA to the Congress leaders in a bid to cobble up the numbers, before the BJP-staked claim to form the government with the support of Goa Forward, MGP and the Independents. “Though the Congress denied me the ticket and later spurned the offer for a tie-up with the NCP, I was ready to support the Congress to form the government, but the Congress’s move came a cropper,” Churchill said. rHe pointed out that his decision to extend support to the Parrikar-led government was based on the demands of his supporters, who wanted development to trickle in Benaulim during the next five years. “My supporters felt that Benaulim should not lag behind on the development front. Hence, I decided to extend my support to the government,” he said. rSubsequent political developments, including the showcause notice issued by the NCP leadership on his decision to extend support to the Parrikar-led government, and the fact that he was not considered for a ministerial berth or plum position, seemed to have left the Benaulim neither with the ruling dispensation or in the opposition ranks. rIn fact, the lone NCP MLA has been perceived in the ruling combine as one legislator, who is ready to join the government, rand in the opposition as one who is ready to extend support to dislodge the ruling dispensation, leaving him neither here nor there. rr BJP leaders are believed to have sent feelers seeking Churchill Alemao’s support for Vinay Tendulkar’s candidature in the RS electionsr After facing the party’s ire post his intent to support the BJP-led coalition after the assembly polls, the Benaulim MLA now says that says that he will go by the diktat of the NCP national leadershipr He says that though the Congress denied him the ticket and later spurned the offer for a tie-up with the NCP, he was ready to support the Congress to form the government, but lamented that Congress’s move came a cropper