MARGAO
Congress leaders were all smiles as the ‘Goy Rakhonn Yatra’ rolled into Benaulim and Nuvem in the party’s stronghold of Salcete over the past two days, drawing thousands, of party workers and supporters to the rallies aimed at “saving Goa”.
Leaders, including Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief Girish Chodankar, Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao and party working president and MLA Alton D’Costa, may be pleased with the response to the yatra in Benaulim and Nuvem. Both predominantly minority-dominated constituencies have traditionally been Congress strongholds, but are currently represented by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Venzy Viegas and Congress-turned-BJP MLA Alexio Sequeira, respectively.
Going by the response and turnout at the rallies in Benaulim and Nuvem so far, party leaders may be tempted to conclude that voters could repeat in the 2027 Assembly election what they did in the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2025 Zilla Panchayat elections, when Congress stamped its dominance in these areas.
However, once the curtains come down on the yatra later this month, the party leadership will have to grapple with a critical question: How to balance the aspirations of the existing cadre with those of newcomers knocking on the party’s doors, particularly as the race for party tickets for the 2027 Assembly election is expected to intensify in the coming months.
GPCC chief Girish Chodankar was candid in stating that the yatra is a “movement” aimed at exposing the BJP government’s non-performance and attempting to save Goa from further destruction, and has nothing to do with the distribution of party tickets. “We welcome the support for the yatra from anyone and everyone since this is not an exercise to take decisions on issuing election tickets,” he said.
Chodankar’s statement could help assuage the sentiments of the party cadre, who have begun raising eyebrows within party circles over attempts by newcomers to join the Congress, allegedly with an eye on securing a party ticket for the 2027 Assembly election. In fact, questions are being asked for the cadre in Benaulim, Nuvem and other places whether one can secure a Congress ticket after joining the party on the eve of the election.
In fact, none other than the GPCC chief knows for sure that those welcoming and supporting the Goy Rakhonn Yatra are not behind the party’s rally out of love of the party, but have been active on the ground, preparing for the 2027 electoral battle by spending their time, energy and resources to keep them in good stead in the election.
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Will Congress admit
Warren and Lyndon into its fold?
THE GOAN NETWORK
MARGAO
As the yatra made its way from Benaulim to Nuvem on Wednesday, one question doing the rounds in political circles was whether the Congress would open its party doors to Warren Alemao in Benaulim and Lyndon Monteiro in Nuvem.
The question assumes significance on two counts: Both have been preparing on the ground to contest the 2027 Assembly elections. Of the two, Warren has officially applied to join the Congress and has also met the party leadership at the Congress House. Lyndon, on the other hand, has been campaigning across Nuvem under the banner of Together for Nuvem, while maintaining that he would join a political party to contest the upcoming polls.
Against this backdrop, Warren and Lyndon welcoming and supporting the Congress yatra in Benaulim and Nuvem respectively has once again fuelled speculation over whether the party will induct them and eventually nominate them as its candidates for the 2027 elections.
For both, however, entry into the Congress is unlikely to be merely about strengthening the party organisation. Their stated objective is to contest the Assembly election on the Congress ticket having been working on the ground to contest the coming polls.
Cadre versus
newcomers for tickets
As the yatra rolls through the eight Assembly constituencies of Salcete, sections of the Congress cadre, particularly in Benaulim and Nuvem, have made it clear that they would prefer candidates from within the party organisation rather than newcomers.
Party workers point to the results of the 2025 Zilla Panchayat elections as evidence of the strength of the local cadre. In Benaulim, Congress candidate Luiza Rodrigues defeated the Aam Aadmi Party nominee, while in Nuvem, the Congress nominee defeated AAP candidate Luis Barretto.
“There was an attempt to field a candidate in Nuvem in the ZP polls against the wishes of the party block and cadre. We all opposed the candidate and fielded a candidate from the cadre, and the Congress retained the seat,” said a Congress leader.
The leader questioned why the Congress leadership should be in a hurry to open its doors to electoral aspirants from outside the organisation on the eve of the Assembly election, bypassing those who, according to the cadre, kept the party flag flying when its electoral fortunes were at a low ebb.
The debate, therefore, is not merely over whether Warren and Lyndon will be admitted into the Congress, but also whether the party leadership will back them over candidates who have worked within the organisation and built their support base over the years.
