MARGAO
Mahagathbandan or not, the Congress will have to brace up to grapple with both the old and new political players if the party nurses the hopes of regaining its lost glory in its traditional bastion of Salcete in the coming 2017 assembly poll. With as many as eight crucial assembly seats at stake in Salcete and against the backdrop of a virtual decimation of the party in the 2012 election, several questions have come to haunt the Congress leadership ahead of the election. The moot question doing the rounds in political circles here is whether the Congress can bounce back in Salcete to regain its pristine glory with or without the much-talked about grand alliance after the unprecedented rout in the last election, after its tally of seats was reduced to a mere two out of the total eight. Consider this. Assuming that the Congress finally takes a call in favour of stitching an alliance with the nascent regional outfit, the Goa Forward Party “ so far the lone regional party other than the NCP that has offered a tie-up with the Congress “ the party s political journey may still not be a smooth affair in Salcete considering the ground reality that a host of existing and new players are lining up and eager to vie for the secular and non-BJP votes. An alliance or not, the Congress will have to certainly contend with the likes of Mickky Pacheco-led Goa Vikas Party, having in its kitty two seats from Salcete and the United Goans Democratic Party along with the new player, the Aam Aadmi Party, which is slowly, but steadily making its presence felt across the taluka, right from Benaulim to Velim, Cuncolim, Nuvem, Curtorim and Fatorda. And, not to mention the three ruling MLAs, including Fisheries Minister Avertano Furtado in Navelim, Caitu Silva in Benaulim and Benjamin Silva in Velim “ who have all disclosed plans to seek re-election in the 2017 poll. As things stand today, the Aam Aadmi party is set to contest all the eight assembly seats in Salcete as the party is opposed to any tie up or alliances with other players. Similarly, the Goa Vikas Party leadership said the party has neither offered an alliance nor has been approached by other parties, as party leaders disclosed plans to field as many candidates as possible in Salcete and outside. “So far, we have neither approached any party for an alliance nor the party has been approached by other players for a tie-up. The GVP does not mind having a tie-up or seat sharing with the UGDP in the coming polls,” informed GVP supremo Mickky Pacheco. A section of Congress leaders from Salcete, who are opposed to the alliance, said they cannot forecast for the moment whether the party can regain its past glory in the taluka without the mahagathbandan. They,however, have thrown up a pertinent question why the Congress should concede its space to the proponents of the grand alliance when the BJP s presence in Salcete is restricted to only 3-4 Assembly constituencies of Fatorda, Margao, Navelim and Cuncolim, demanding to know why the party should give up those seats where the party can put up a good show, if not win the seats outright.
