By IANS
Panaji : Hectic lobbying is on among aspirants for the Congress ticket for the Lok Sabha by-election from the Marmugoa (South Goa) constituency even as state political heavyweight and Public Works Minister Churchill Alemao is campaigning to get the nomination for his 27-year-old daughter.
All-out efforts started in the Congress camp for the party ticket soon after the poll was announced, but all eyes are on Alemao, whose resignation as Congress MP from the seat has led to the fresh poll.
Alemao also quit the Congress, floated the Save Goa Party and won the assembly election this year. He, however, continues to be part of the Congress-led coalition government in the state.
Alemao visited Delhi over the weekend and was reported to have met Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political advisor Ahmed Patel.
He reportedly also staked claim for the ticket on behalf of his daughter, Delhi-based lawyer Valanka Alemao.
Alemao’s main rival from within the camp of the Congress and its allies appears to be the state Congress president Francisco Sardinha.
The state Congress as well as the Congress Legislature Party have passed resolutions saying the ticket should be given only to a Congress member and should be based on “loyalty and seniority” – criteria likely to benefit Sardinha, a former assembly speaker.
“Ticket should go to a loyal Congress worker and not to an outsider,” state unit general secretary Barnabe Sapeco told IANS.
The fight for the ticket could also push the state government to the corner, though Chief Minister Digambar Kamat Monday said: “There is no threat to the government over the candidate selection.”
Alemao, on his part, was noncommittal and told journalists: “Let Sonia Gandhi decide. I do not want to comment right now.”
Among the Congress allies is the Nationalist Congress Party, which after some hedging said it would support any candidate decided by the major partner.
The Congress is expected to announce the name after Sonia Gandhi returns from her US visit Thursday.
On the other hand, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not decided on its candidate yet. Efforts are on among smaller opposition parties to find a “consensus” candidate backed by the BJP.
BJP national general secretary Gopinath Munde said at a function in the coastal village of Candolim Monday that the party already “has a vote base in South Goa, and needs to increase its share of votes” if it is to win the crucial Lok Sabha seat.
Munde added that “sharp differences” among the Congress leaders would further help the BJP.
The by-election is of utmost importance to the Congress and especially to Kamat, who came to power in June 2007 with a slender majority.
Political observers here say his future could depend on the Congress performance in the by-poll in a state where political majorities in the 40-seat house are usually small and defections by a few politicians have destabilised governments.
The issues before the voters are expected to be the conflicting views of the Congress and the BJP on secularism and the divide between the national parties and the local ones.
As South Goa includes the populous taluka of Salcete, Goa’s only Catholic-majority area, the role of voters from this otherwise minority community could also influence the outcome.
The constituency has been a strong fort of the Congress except once when Ramakant Angle of the BJP won it prior to Alemao. He, however, joined the Congress later.
According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the election notification will be issued Oct 5, the final date for nominations is Oct 12, scrutiny on Oct 13, and the last date for withdrawals on Oct 15.