Goa Lok Sabha polls: Luizinho Faleiro could join Congress after monsoon?

PANAJI: Senior Goan politician and ex-Goa CM Luizinho Faleiro could join the Congress party after the monsoons, sources in New Delhi said, adding that the Faleiro camp has sent feelers to the effect and are seeking an appointment with the Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former Congress Presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Faleiro was not available for comment and members of his coterie whom we spoke to flatly denied the news. A Goan political leader from Navelim particularly close to Faleiro said “the boss is thinking of retirement from political life, so joining any party at this stage is completely farfetched”.

However, Faleiro had said he would continue to contest elections and did not mention anything about retirement. It is unlikely he would hang up his boots for another 3 to 5 years and is very likely to contest the Lok Sabha polls next year from South Goa. It remains to be seen on which party symbol, Faleiro would throw his hat into the election ring.

“It is possible that Faleiro may contest as an independent, propped up by a larger party in order to divide and spilt vote banks in the Southern hinterlands of Goa,” said a political observer from Margao who was earlier associated with Faleiro during his stint with the Congress, but broke ranks after his move to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in 2021.

Faleiro, a senior Congress leader switched sides and went over to the TMC prior to the State Assembly elections of February 2022. He was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP on a TMC ticket, but had to resign and quit the post after the TMC lost its ‘national party’ status. Subsequently, he also resigned from the TMC on the same day.