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Congress defectors strengthen regional parties

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

Floor-crossing became the highlight of Monday, the last date of filing nominations for the Goa assembly election.

With the alliance talks between the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party breaking down late Sunday night, Congress rebels have joined regional parties.

Unlike in the past, Goa is witnessing a new phenomenon this time. Most Congress aspirants who were denied tickets have opted to join either the MGP, the United Goans Democratic Party or the Goa Rajiv Congress rather than contest as independents.

"It would not have any adverse impact on the prospects of the Congress," claims Luizinho Faleiro, the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee chief and former chief minister.

He declined to commit whether his party would readmit these rebels, if elected, in case of a hung assembly.

With the 12-day long BJP-MGP alliance talks proving fruitless in the 12th hours, Dr Wilfred de Souza, the GRC leader, has now revived talks of forming a regional front of the MGP, the UGDP and the GRC. "Our common motto is to fight the Congress and the BJP," he said.

MGP leader Ramakant Khalap is however agitated over the failure of the alliance talks with the BJP, negotiated by Union Minister Pramod Mahajan and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde.

"The blame lies entirely with the BJP, who remained adamant on seat-sharing formula," he claimed.

Without giving any explanation to the MGP or mediapersons about why the talks failed, both Mahajan and Munde have driven off to Bombay early morning. The local leaders refused comment. "Their proposals were not acceptable," was all that Manohar Parrikar, the local BJP spokesperson, would volunteer.

Sources in the BJP however disclose that the local leadership was never interested in forging the alliance; it was simply imposed by the party's central leadership. The BJP this time wants to go alone and win a sizeable number of seats in the 40-member House.

While most of the BJP's candidates are fresh faces, all other parties have controversial and tainted leaders as their candidates. The Congress tops the list by giving tickets to many such leaders, including 16 former legislators and six ex-MLAs who were defeated in the '94 assembly poll.

The three regional parties have wholeheartedly welcomed the Congress rebels into their party. Whether the educated Goan voter, who is fed up of instability caused by such defectors, would once again vote for them or not is a question that will answered on June 4, the day of the polling.

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