Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: Former MLA and senior advocate Radharao Gracias has called for an electoral alliance between the Congress and the Vijai Sardesai-led Goa Forward Party (GFP), warning that keeping Sardesai outside the Congress fold could pose a greater political challenge to the party ahead of the upcoming elections.
“Vijai Sardesai is more dangerous outside Congress than within it,” Gracias said, urging the Congress leadership to immediately open discussions with GFP and explore a formal alliance.
Gracias said Congress should take the political situation seriously and claimed, citing his sources, that Sardesai has received backing from a major financial supporter previously associated with the BJP. He said the development should be considered while the party works out its electoral strategy.
Gracias Alleges Financial Influence In Ticket Selection
Alongside his call for an alliance, Gracias levelled allegations against the functioning of the Congress party in Goa, claiming that Assembly tickets were being linked to financial contributions towards party expenses and liabilities.
Referring to information linked to a post by former minister Mickey Pacheco, Gracias claimed that Congress had agreed to purchase office premises at Patto, Panaji, with around ₹4 crore allegedly pending before possession could be taken.
He alleged that the Nuvem Assembly ticket was being offered to prospective candidates who could help clear the outstanding amount. Gracias claimed three potential candidates had expressed interest, with one allegedly offering to fully furnish the proposed office.
He further alleged that candidate selection in constituencies such as Nuvem and Velim was being used to fund party expenses. Gracias claimed that a prospective Nuvem candidate had also paid the hotel bills of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge during his visit to Goa.
Gracias warned that candidates who enter electoral politics through financial arrangements could later defect to other parties, citing previous instances. He appealed to Congress loyalists and supporters of MP Captain Viriato Fernandes to unite against what he described as the “commercialisation” of party tickets.
Questions ‘Anywhere Registration’ System
Gracias also criticised the state government’s ‘Anywhere Registration’ system for property transactions, questioning the implications of allowing sale deeds to be registered outside the taluka where the property is located.
He argued that the system could create scope for fraudulent transactions and questioned how land records would be effectively maintained under such an arrangement.
Gracias demanded that the government retain the practice of registering property transactions within the respective taluka where the land is situated, warning that changes to the registration process could have serious implications for property ownership and records.
The allegations regarding Congress ticket selection, financial dealings and political backing were made by Gracias and could not be independently verified.
