MARGAO
As senior Congress leaders have called for a revamp of the party in the wake of the Zilla Panchayat debacle, the party’s Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao is expected to submit a detailed report to the high command on how to go about the task ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections.
That the AICC Secretary took time off to rush to the residence of former Chief Minister and Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro to have a word with the veteran leader after his interaction with party leaders in the South district office indicates that the Goa desk in-charge took care to ensure all are made a part of the ongoing consultative process.
Faleiro confirmed that Gundu Rao paid a courtesy call on him at his residence on Wednesday evening, saying that he and the AICC general secretary discussed party matters.
Sources in the know said that senior party leaders in the state have clearly told the Congress Goa desk in-charge that a plan of action was required to rebuild the party when the stocks have considerably gone down in recent times, culminating in the ZP debacle. A couple of senior party leaders are believed to have insisted on a change in leadership with Assembly elections just a year away.
Senior party leaders believe that the party high command sent the Goa desk in-charge to the state to take stock of the situation after the party suffered the worst ever performance in the ZP polls, followed by the resignation of GPCC Chief Girish Chodankar.
If sources in the Congress party are to be believed, Gundu is expected to head to the national capital after a couple of days and submit a detailed report on the situation in Goa, including the leadership tangle.
At the South Goa district office, the AICC Secretary had an interaction with separate groups, including the Zilla Panchayat candidates from the district to get first-hand information of what exactly happened on the ground during the polls.
Sources in the know said at least two candidates are believed to have told the Goa desk in-charge how a senior party leader tried to sabotage their prospects in the polls. Senior party leaders, including GPCC Chief Girish Chodankar, CLP Leader Digambar Kamat, South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha, former minister Aleixo Sequeira, district president Joe Dias and others were also present during the interaction.
Gundu later had an interaction with the South Goa District Committee members to take their feedback on various issues, including the ZP poll debacle, the resignation of Girish Chodankar and how to rebuild the party. A district Congress member is believed to have raised the question of Girish’s resignation, demanding to know whether the party has accepted it and the appointment of a new party president.
The AICC Secretary also had an interaction with the Congress block presidents from South Goa district with the sole purpose of seeking feedback on the revival of the party.
