If the Congress high command accepts the resignation of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president it will be one of those rare occasions when a successful leader was booted out. Faleiro had put in his papers a year ago, but the high command did not act on them. Now he has renewed his request to be relieved of the post in a fresh letter to party president Sonia Gandhi. But his letter is not as simple as it seems. Even though Faleiro has clearly stated that he is willing to step down if perceived as the hurdle to government formation, he did not hold back his punches. He hit where it was necessary and his target was former Goa in-charge Digvijaya Singh.
Is Faleiro really the stumbling block, or is a faction in the Congress playing the Goa Forward Party game? This is an issue the high command needs to consider when examining the contents of Faleiro’s letter because ousting him does not change the equations within the Congress Legislative Party and the vote held a day after the results showed that Faleiro enjoyed more support in the CLP than anyone else.
Faleiro took charge as GPCC president at a time when the party unit was at its lowest. It had suffered the consequences of a disastrous episode when John Fernandes ran amok. Then, no one was willing to step forward to take up the onerous task of re-building the party. None of the people who are now asking for Faleiro’s ouster showed the willingness to carry that burden. Faleiro took up the challenge and won 17 seats, a figure no one expected the Congress to accomplish.
Perhaps, Faleiro’s only error is that he did not consider it necessary to forge an alliance with any like-minded party. His argument then was, ‘with whom to forge an alliance?’ He never considered Goa Forward as a political force and hated Vijai Sardessai. Even towards the very end he inserted a candidate at the last minute in Fatorda. This created a lot of bad blood and it is this bad blood that came back to haunt him after the Goa Forward won three seats.
Because the Congress is the single largest party in the Assembly it is in a position to form government and the impression given is that as long as Faleiro is in charge this chance is reduced. This might reflect the political reality, but what is the guarantee that the political situation will change if Faleiro is removed? The BJP-led coalition is just three months old and there are no signs of any cracks. Hence, sacking Faleiro will not serve any political purpose at this juncture. It should be considered only if the political situation changes in favour of the Congress.
