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Congress’s Rajani Patil sent to assess Goa poll loss has her task cut out
The party was expected to do well and emerge as the single largest in the assembly amid discontent against the government
PANAJI: Congress leader Rajani Patil, who has been asked to assess the party’s performance in Goa elections and suggest organisational changes after the debacle, has her task cut out. The party was expected to do well and emerge as the single largest in the assembly amid discontent against the government. But Congress managed to win just 11 of 40 seats. This was its worst performance since 2012 when it won nine seats.
Congress’s ally Goa Forward Party managed to win just one seat. In 2017, Congress was unable to form the government in the state despite emerging as the single-largest party. Most of its lawmakers later defected to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Congress’s Goa unit chief Girish Chodankar, who has stepped down, was appointed in April 2018. His tenure coincided with the party’s poor performance in the 2019 by-elections when Congress managed to win only one of the three seats. Atanasio Monserrate, who contested the polls and won on a Congress ticket, later switched to the BJP. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party won one of the two seats. Chodankar unsuccessfully contested the Panaji assembly by-election in 2017 and the Lok Sabha polls.
Chodankar was chosen as the Congress was eager to promote young faces. But he is seen to have failed to unite the party as it faced desertions. He offered his resignation earlier too but the leadership chose to stick with him.
A Congress lawmaker said they were waiting to hear from the central leadership about the elections, the post of the Opposition leader, and who will lead the party. “Perhaps it will happen after Holi.”
It is unclear who will take over from Chodankar. Former minister Aleixo Sequeira and Sankalp Amonkar are believed to be among Chodankar’s potential successors. Amonkar won the assembly election defeating his rival Milind Naik of the BJP. Sequeira is seen to represent the old guard.
“Amonkar knows the ins and outs of the Congress and is familiar with the organisation. Being an MLA [member of legislative assembly] has boosted his claim to the top post, something Chodankar lacked due to his repeated election losses,” said a Congress leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Congress lost several seats in the 2022 polls by narrow margins. In at least three constituencies of Navelim, Velim, and Dabolim, the party lost because the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was also contesting. NCP is an ally of the Congress in Maharashtra.
Delay in finalising candidates and rebels also led to the Congress’s loss. The party’s vote share reduced from 28.4% to 24% as the parties such as Aam Aadmi Party and the Revolutionary Goans were also contesting the polls. Congress that went to the polls with just a single lawmaker (Digambar Kamat) increased its tally to 11. The BJP’s tally fell from 27 to 20. Both deputy chief ministers lost the polls.
In North Goa’s Bardez taluka, the party regained the ground lost to the BJP, thanks largely to Michael Lobo. Lobo switched to Congress ahead of the polls. Congress won four of the seven seats in Bardez. It narrowly missed out on winning the fifth, making Lobo the second most important Congress leader after Kamat. Lobo has now emerged as a strong contender for the Opposition leader’s post as well as that of Congress organisation.
