MARGAO
How would newly-appointed Goa Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Girish Chodankar’s team look like “ a blend of youth and experience or simply Young Turks assuming major responsibilities in the party set up in tune with the Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s vision of encouraging young leadership to steer the party to greater heights?
These and other questions did the rounds in Congress circles as Girish braced up to take over the mantle of leadership from outgoing GPCC Chief Shantaram Naik on Friday, as the young leader is expected to unveil his road map to strengthen and build the party at the grassroots.
It has been a long custom in the Congress party that new presidents not only take over the reigns with fresh ideas, but with new men at the helm, men of their choice and confidence.
It is no secret that whenever there’s a change in guard in the GPCC, the old team makes way for the new to take over the reigns of office. Take the case of former GPCC President Luizinho Faleiro.
When he took over the GPCC reigns around two years ago after he was drafted for the party work in Goa after his half-a-decade long stint in national politics, his close aides such as veteran Congressmen M K Sheikh and Moti Desai were back in action in the Congress House. And, to the credit of Faleiro, a whole lot of Young Turks as party general secretaries, secretaries and spokespersons were inducted in the party set up, giving them prominence, importance and responsibility in the run up to the 2017 Assembly elections.
A change in GPCC guard in 2017 after the Assembly polls saw veteran and loyalist Shantaram Naik returning to the saddle after over a decade. And, he brought with him his trusted aides, including Altinho Gomes to lead the party in the Congress scheme of things.
With Shantaram Naik making way for Girish Chodankar, questions are being asked in Congress circles over the composition of the new team of office bearers who will assist the new president in matters concerning the organization.
When The Goan contacted Girish to shed light on the composition of his team of office bearers and advisors, he said it will take some time for him to take a call on how to go about constituting his new team.
While Girish has been harping on a blend of youth and experience to take the organization forward, sources in the know, however, do not rule out the possibility of a whole lot of youngsters swarming around the Congress House as part of the new scheme of things, especially those who have been part of the organization for long.
While Faleiro had introduced training sessions for the party leaders by roping in experts from the JNU, Delhi, the new president, sources said, is also open to impart training to the Young Turks on leadership qualities and imbibe in them Congress values and ideology.
In the meantime, the new GPCC President is expected to unveil his road map for the party on Friday as he takes over the party mantle from outgoing chief Shantaram Naik. “The road map will give an insight into the plans of the party that the new team wishes to execute and implement in the state,” sources close to Girish told The Goan.
