11 May 2002

BJP JITTERY AT CONGRESS INROADS IN ITS GOA CAMP

From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: The Bhartiya Janata Party leadership is quite jittery at the Congress snatching away its two top stalwarts in Goa and giving them the party ticket in the Assembly elections taking place on May 30.

The Congress is entering into an electoral understanding with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of Sharad Pawar by leaving for it three of the 40 seats in a deal struck with state NCP chief and former chief minster Dr Wilfred de Souza. The understanding, however, fell through within hours of the Congress offer which was described by Dr de Souze as ''too little'', citing his chief Pawar's directive not to accept anything less than ''respectable.'' NCP had wanted 15 seat but would have agreed on six. Also, Tivim and Siolim which were difficult seats were offered without consulting NCP, knowing well that the Congress cannot win them in any case.

The AICC sources in Delhi said they would announce Sunday night candidates for the three seats, including Saligaon from where Dr de Souza is to contest, if NCP is not ready to grab the offer made on the basis of its ground position in Goa.

The Congress list released on Saturday has as many as 14 Catholic candidates, though the party has decided to use former Chief Minister Ravi Naik, former Chief Minister and now Speaker Pratapsing Rane, PCC chief Nirmala Sawant and former Union Law Minister Ramakant Khalap to aggressively win back the Hindu votes from the BJP while making use of former chief minister Luizinho Faleiro and the Churchill brothers in the Catholic-dominated areas.

DOORS SHUT FOR MORE DEFECTIONS: AICC Secretary (incharge Goa desk) Ramesh Chennithala said former Deputy Chief Minister Ravi Naik (Ponda), former Union Law Minister Ramakant Khalap (Mandrem) and former Civil Supplies Minister Sanjay Bandekar (Cancona) are the last defectors to get the party ticket and no more ticket to any new defector as the party has to take care of loyalists. Defections, if any, would be possible now only after the polls and they may take place looking back to the history of Goa politics.

Industries Minister Shaikh Hassan of BJP, who had defected from Congress, had also sent the feelers but the Congress list is final and there cannot be any changes. Tahir Davud Carol chosen for Vasco seat is the only Muslim in the Congress list.

AICC Secretary Subodh Kant Sahay and former Union Minister Jagdish Tytler, who grew up in Goa, are reaching Panaji on Sunday to oversee the campaign with the assistance of eight observers already in place there. Congress President Sonia Gandhi will be addressing a public meeting in Panaji on Thursday, May 23.

Chennithala himself is rushing to Chennai Saturday night with a key assignment given to him by Sonia Gandhi to complete the merger of Tamil Manila Congress (TMC) into the Congress. He will be able to go to Goa only after finishing the task in Tamil Nadu, which is also part of his portfolio in the AICC. Three byelections are taking place in Tamil Nadu.

BJP COUNTER-STRATEGY: Meanwhile, the central leadership of the BJP Janata Party is quite rattled from the last-minute defection of Ravi Naik as the sources said he was involved at all stage in selection of BJP candidates and as such the leadership does not know what to do with those given the ticket on his recommendations as they may switch side after the elections under his influence.

Union Minister of State for Shipping Sripad Naik has rushed to Goa at the instance of the party leadership which has hinted to him that he may have to take the responsibility of securing the Bhandari Samaj votes on which Ravi Naik has lot of influence.

Sources said Sripad may be even asked to contest from one of the Assembly constituencies, of course not from Ponda against Ravi Naik, and he may even be projected as the prospective chief ministerial candidate in place of Manohar Parrikar, whose community of the Saraswat Brahmin does not have large vote bank. Sources close to Sripad, however, say he may not be keen to return to the state politics as he sees the party's prospects dim despite all the noise made by Parrikar.

Here is the official list of Congress candidates:

Mandrem Ramakant Khalap
Pernem Jitendra Deshprabhu
Dargalim (SC) Balakrishna Dhargalkar
Calangute Agnelo Ferandes
Aldona Dayanand narvekar
Panaji Ramesh Silimkhan
Taleigao Somnath Zuarkar
Santa Cruz Mrs Victoria Fernandes
St Andre Francisco Silveria
Cumbarjua Mrs Nirmala Sawant
Bicholim Arjun parab
Mayem Harish Zantye
Pale Gurdas Gauns
Poriem Pratapsingh Rane
Valpoi Venkatesh A Dessai (Bandu)
Ponda Ravi Naik
Priol Shrikant Amonkar
Marcaim Ramchandra Naik Mule
Siroda Subhash Shirodkar
Mormugao Giovanni Karl Vaz
Vasco Tahir Davud Carol
Cortalim Mauvin Godinho
Lutulim Alex Sequira
Benaulim Churchill Alemao
Fatorda Luis Alex Cardozo
Margao Girish Chodankar
Curtolim Francisco Sardinha
Navelim Luizinho Faleiro
Velim Marcos D'Silva
Cucolim Joaquim Alemao
Sanvordem Sdashiv Marathe
Sanguem Satyavan B Dessai
Curchorem Dominic Fernandes
Quepem Chandrakant Kavalekar
Cancona Sanjay Bandekar
Poinguinim Isidore Fernandes.

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