Goa: Congress Can’t Find Block Presidents, Forget About Winning Candidates: GPF

MARGAO: The Goa People’s Forum (GPF), Thursday lashed out at the present top leadership of the Goa unit of the Congress party, saying that if the Congress cannot find dedicated Block Presidents to run their Blocks, how will they find winning candidates for the upcoming elections in February next year?

The Congress top leadership in Goa must accept the fact that they don’t have enough committed people in every constituency at the moment. They are dependent on “fence-sitters’ who switch sides according to the size of the ‘packets’ offered by rival party candidates at the last moment, Martin Nunes from Margao explained.

Speaking to this reporter on phone, Espy Costa from Borim, founder-member of the Goa People’s Forum (GPF) said that among the top team that met senior party observer P Chidambaram in Goa were persons who pretended to be Congress supporters, but eventually supported the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) candidates during the by-polls held in 2019.

“The Congress leadership in Goa appointed district-level and state-level GSs (general secretaries) and VPs (vice presidents) who took money from the candidates of the MGP and BJP and secretly worked for them during the by-polls held in 2019 in Shiroda, Mandrem, Panaji and Mapusa. These same persons were seen in photographs with Chidambaram over the last two days. Why does the Congress leadership ‘cultivate’ and ‘nurture’ such backstabbers and traitors. These people will ditch the party at the time of polls and switch over loyalty to other parties,” opined Nuvem-based Priyanka D’souza and secretary of the Goa People’s Forum.

Responding to a query about former Panjim Mayor and Panjim MLA Babush Monserate’s confidante Uday Madkaikar joining the Congress, the GPF spokesperson opined that it was a secret strategy by Monserrate to destroy the Congress in Panaji.

“The Congress must only give tickets to those workers who have been with the party at least for the last 3-4 years. Those who jump from other parties must be asked to ensure that the loyal candidates win,” the spokesperson said.

“Madkaikar says he has decided to join the Congress in Goa because he feels he does not have a place any more in the BJP Mandal, and no respect in the BJP party. According to him people who were against Babush (Panaji BJP MLA) are now close to him, and other loyal supporters are kept aside. But the day he gets bags full of cash from the Panaji MLA, this perception will totally change,” the GPF co-convenor said.