AERIAL VIEW
For 15 days, the Congress leaders have been giving a reason that “let the BJP decide the Chief Minister and let the Government be sworn in. We will see that the Congress names its leader on the first day of Assembly.”
On the day of the Assembly, the CLP leaders met and decided that the decision should be taken by National president Sonia Gandhi.
Well, the decision was always going to be taken by Mrs Gandhi, right? Why this drama? Did the MLAs have any powers to decide who would be the CLP leader?
The fight is between the former chief minister and LoP Digambar Kamat and the King of Bardez Michael Lobo. Both have been lobbying hard for the position and have met the party leaders in Delhi in the past few days, yet the solution doesn’t seem to be in sight.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
It’s been 19 days since the Assembly election results have been declared, but the grand old party, the Congress, which itself has to be blamed for the debacle in these elections, is yet to reach a consensus on who will be Leader of Opposition or who will be the Congress Legislative Party leader.
For 15 days, the Congress leaders have been giving a reason that “let the BJP decide the Chief Minister and let the Government be sworn in. We will see that the Congress names its leader on the first day of Assembly.”
On the day of the Assembly, the CLP leaders met and decided that the decision should be taken by National president Sonia Gandhi.
Well, the decision was always going to be taken by Mrs Gandhi, right? Why this drama? Did the MLAs have any powers to decide who would be the CLP leader?
The fight is between the former chief minister and LoP Digambar Kamat and the King of Bardez Michael Lobo. Both have been lobbying hard for the position and have met the party leaders in Delhi in the past few days, yet the solution doesn’t seem to be in sight.
The BJP, on the other hand, looks so well-managed. Even though there was a delay in declaring the CM, they handled the rivalry between Vishwajit Rane and Dr Pramod Sawant so well. The senior leaders flew down to Goa, they both were called by Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi, and it looked all so well organised.
In contrast, Congress does not seem to have learnt its lessons from 2017, when it lost the battle it had already won.
The delay in naming the CM candidate cost them the Government despite being the single largest party, as BJP managed to get the numbers and stake a claim.
One also fails to understand the Super brains in Congress, who are delaying the appointment of CLP leaders? Why is it that the Gandhis always neglect Goa? Why do they wait till the last minute?
If you ask me, Digambar Kamat may be a seniormost leader and experienced too, but he has no right to stake a claim for the position of Leader of Opposition or the CLP leader. He has failed to take up the responsibility and lead from the front. In the recently-concluded elections, Kamat was of no help to the Congress as he neither contributed in terms of strategy nor he campaigned nor supported any candidate of Congress in his neighbouring constituencies.
If Congress had won, Kamat today would have been the Chief Minister, but he failed in his duty to lead and motivate other colleagues despite knowing this. What kind of leadership is this? Ask Kamat how many seats did he win for Congress?
On the other hand, Calangute Michael Lobo – a new entrant in the party, can proudly say he won four seats for the party. Even as the entire State machinery was working against him in Bardez, he fought well to win four out of six seats in Bardez.
Without Michael Lobo, Congress would have even failed to reach the double-figure.
So Mr Kamat, can you say how many seats you won in Salcete? Despite ruling Margao for decades, you were glued to the constituency fearing your opponent Babu Azgaonkar.
The decision is simple for Congress; the non-performing leaders need to be sidelined and move on.
