It is a sheer coincidence that GPCC chief Girishbab Chodankar has suddenly come under attack from within the Congress and outside. That Congress senior leaders Luizinhbab Faleiro and Franciscbab Sardinha have questioned the decline of the party post-2017 Assembly election is a clear indication that Girishbab is under fire from the old guard. That’s not all. Opposition leaders from Saxttidom, including Varca strongman Bab Churchill too has not spared Girish. And, not to mention Goa Forward chief and arch rival Vijaibab Sardesai, who is engaged in a running battle with the GPCC chief.
Advantage Pratima?
Which Assembly constituency will Congress-turned-AAP leader Pratimabai Coutinho choose to make it to the Goa Legislative Assembly in 2022? Well, one may say that Pratimabai, who time and again says she is a MP and MLA material, has the option of contesting from her home constituency Navelim. Observers, however, say that neighbouring Velim may also be option open for Pratimabai. Reason. In 2017, AAP made deep inroads in Velim, polling substantial votes. And, in the Navelim ZP by-poll, AAP bagged majority votes in the villages of Dramapur-Sirlim and Sarzora, both coming under Velim constituency. Any questions?
MMC polls & GF’s strategic move
Why is the Goa Forward camp brimming with confidence even before the campaign for the Margao Municipal polls could kick-start officially? Is it because party supremo Vijaibab Sardesai could feel the voters pulse during his door-to-door visits or is it simply because the opposition is yet to show its force in Fatorda’s countryside? Or, is the party putting up a façade as part of the strategy? Well, in the 2015 polls, the Goa Forward had made a clean sweep of the election winning all the 11 seats at stake. Has the saffron brigade any plan to checkmate the ‘men in blue’? Wait and watch.
Introspection time for saffron camp?
How does the saffron brigade headed by Chief Minister Pramodbab Sawant interpret the party’s drubbing in the Navelim ZP by-poll? The CM with deputies Ajgaonkar and Kavlekar in tow, had all descended in Navelim in support of party nominee Satyavijaibab Naik. The party had pulled out all the stops to win the seat and consolidate on the 2,000-odd votes by the party in the 2019 election in the ZP constituency. Leave alone garnering votes from the minorities, the saffron brigade could not even retain its votes. Indeed a time for introspection.
All eyes on Digambar and son
With the nomination process for the Margao Municipal election underway, one question doing the rounds in the city is “ will Diggu introduce son Yogiraj Kamat into the electoral politics in the ensuing polls. Well, Yogiraj was all set to contest from Ward No. 18 of the MMC, before the seat was reserved for OBC. Now, that Ward No. 18 is deserved for the general category after the latest ward reservation post-SC verdict, it’s still unclear whether Yogiraj will enter politics from the ward. Wait and watch as former MMC chairperson Ganashyam Shirodkar has also set his eyes on Ward No. 18.
