Polls: Congress shifts flock to luxurious resort in Goa amid prediction of Mar 10 outcomes ending in useless warmth

By PTI

PANAJI: Desperate to keep away from the repeat of the 2017 fiasco when it had did not kind a authorities in Goa regardless of scoring the utmost variety of seats, the Congress has shifted all of the candidates who had contested the Assembly polls to a luxurious resort in Bambolim village close to Panaji forward of the counting of votes on March 10.

Given that the political stakes are very excessive and contemplating the quicksand of Goa politics, the get together might not enable some candidates even to go to the counting centre on Thursday, a senior Congress chief mentioned on Wednesday.

However, Michael Lobo, who stop the BJP-led Goa authorities forward of the polls and contested on a Congress ticket, mentioned all of the candidates will go to the counting centre.

With the prediction of a hung Assembly setting off energy video games in Goa, Congress on Tuesday night shifted all its candidates in a luxurious resort at Bambolim village, round 5 km away from Panaji.

All the candidates checked within the resort on Tuesday night with their baggage, indicating that the federal government formation could also be a protracted haul.

However, Congress leaders refused to confess that the get together was corralling its candidates as it isn’t keen to take any probabilities given the fragile quantity sport.

“We are here to celebrate the birthday of Opposition leader Digambar Kamat. It’s a celebration time,” Lobo, who contested the election from house turf Calangute, instructed reporters.

Kamat celebrated his birthday on March 8. Lobo mentioned Congress had nothing to concern as all of the candidates are collectively. “There is no worry about poaching,” he added.

However, a senior Congress chief spoke in regards to the nervousness within the get together over retaining the flock in opposition to the backdrop of the 2017 expertise whereby intense infighting and the delay in staking declare to kind a authorities value the get together pricey.

“There are worries. That is why the candidates are kept under one roof. Some of the candidates will not be allowed even to visit the counting centre tomorrow. Their counting agents will represent them,” a senior Congress chief mentioned.

Lobo, nevertheless, mentioned that every one the candidates will go to the counting centre. “Let them celebrate their victory and return to stake a claim to form the government,” he mentioned.

With its energy whittled down to simply two MLAs within the 40-member House from the 17 seats it had received within the 2017 polls and the Goa political area getting crowded with the entry of TMC and AAP, the Grand Old Party did some course correction forward of polls this time.

Before the polls, held on February 14, Congress made all its 37 candidates signal affidavits to make sure that they won’t defect to different events after getting elected.

The Congress had taken all its candidates in a particular bus to a temple, a church in addition to a dargah in Goa and made them take the ‘anti-defection’ pledge.

Senior leaders, together with AICC Goa election in-charge P Chidambaram and Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao, have been carefully monitoring the developments.

In the 2017 polls, regardless of profitable 17 seats, Congress couldn’t come to energy because the BJP, which had bagged 13 seats, allied with some independents and regional events to kind the federal government underneath Manohar Parrikar.