MARGAO
The issue of a party membership as a pre-requisite for a party ticket may come to haunt the Congress leadership with BJP rebel Sudhir Kandolkar quitting the BJP to embrace the Congress, apparently with an eye on the Congress ticket for the Mapusa bypoll.
For, the membership issue has raised its ugly head in the run up to the selection of party candidate for the South Goa LS seat, with a section of Congress leaders raising the issue against two contenders – Adv Cleofato Coutinho and Valanka Alemao.
While the candidature of Valanka was not being considered that there are no records at the district office that suggests that she had renewed her membership, objections were raised in certain quarters over Adv Cleofato’s candidature that he had joined the Congress only in November last. “Will the Congress leadership employ the same yardstick to Sudhir Kandolkar for the party ticket,” questioned a senior Congress leader.
