Helpless campaign manager
Is the Congress campaign panel headed by former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat looks good only on paper? This question has again come to the fore in Congress circles as meetings of the panel has not taken place till date. That’s not all. Members of the panel such as Dr Chella Kumar and GPCC chief Girish Chodankar have themselves descended on the Lok Sabha battlefield, leaving the Congress party a disorganised lot and no one to take care of the poll campaign in its entirety. Kamat has virtually expressed his helplessness in leading the campaign with key players contesting the elections and the party leadership yet to hand over the baton to others.
Still nursing a grudge?
Scribes attending Ramesh Tawadkar’s media briefing were taken aback when the former sports minster neither mentioned the name of Narendra Sawaikar nor highlighted Sawaikar’s achievements. It’s an open secret there’s no love lost between Ramesh Tawadkar and the sitting South Goa MP. In fact, Tawadkar, had in the past squarely blamed the MP for denying him the ticket to contest the 2017 Assembly election, before he made ghar vapsi into the party a month ago. Any questions?
Helping hand from Pintos
Varca-based Pintos may not have hit the campaign trail for the Congress candidate Francisco Sardinha yet. Sources, however, say that Nazario like many others along the Benaulim belt is silently working for the Congress on social media and outside. Pinto has told his friends and well wishers there’s no other alternative for the people this time around than to vote for the Congress to save democracy. With NCP MLA Churchill Alemao still blowing hot and cold over the question of supporting the Congress, many people in Benaulim like the Pintos have lend their helping hand for the Congress candidate.
Pratima fumes at Sardinha
An infuriated Mahila Congress chief Pratima Coutinho on Friday protested before party leaders over Congress candidate Francisco Sardinha’s remark that he did not participate in “aaltoo faltoo” activities such as selling coconuts on the streets in the last five years. Pratima and her mahilas had launched a protest against coconut price rise by selling coconuts on the streets. Taking offense to Sardinha’s remarks, Pratima immediately got in touch with senior leaders to convey her sentiments how the candidate has tried to belittle her activities.
Ready for campaign
Is the Congress camp quiet over Francisco Sardinha’s election campaign in Navelim? Well, brace up for action in the coming week before curtains come down on the April 23 Lok Sabha poll. Congress veteran Luizinho Faleiro who was holed up in the North East, which went to the polls in phase I, is finally back in the State. Sources said that Faleiro is expected to immediately go into campaign gear to keep the Congress flag flying high in Navelim. In 2014, Faleiro had played his due role to give the Congress a lead, though a slender one, against the BJP.
