Kolkata: Even after a disappointing debut in the Goa Assembly elections, The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is adamant to fight on. Congress, the principal opposition party now reduced to only three MLAs and with BJP’s seat count now at 33 of the 40 seats in the Assembly, the TMC has adopted a fresh strategy to fill the vacuum created by the Congress in the coastal state.
They have on September 7 announced a new 40-member state committee to help the party take its message to the people of Goa. However, missing in the revamped committee was the party’s key face in the state – Luizinho Faleiro.
The former Chief Minister of Goa and Congressman, Faleiro joined the All-India Trinamool Congress in September 2021. He was then appointed the national Vice President of the party by Mamata Banerjee and two months later given a Rajya Sabha ticket replacing Trinamool MP Arpita Ghosh.
Luizinho Faleiro, while speaking to ThePrint, said he hasn’t received any official communication from the party leadership in Kolkata. “I am a Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP, I have raised 40 important issues about Goa in the Upper House but if the Trinamool is unhappy with me, only they will be able to tell.”
However, Faleiro remained tightlipped when asked if he was going to quit his Rajya Sabha membership or the Trinamool Congress.
While addressing a news conference in Panaji last week, Derek O’Brien, Trinamool Parliamentary leader, Rajya Sabha, called Faleiro an “honourable man”. This was in response to being asked whether Faleiro still remains a member of the TMC after his name was excluded from the state committee.
Meanwhile, political analysts say that that Faleiro’s impact on the TMC’s presence in the state is “immaterial” and “almost negligible”.
Samil Volvoikar, who along with Mariano Rodrigues, is Joint Convener for TMC in Goa, said “We are missing nobody”, referring to the party’s decision to omit Faleiro from the committee.
“Whatever decision the party has taken, has been taken only after full consultation with workers in our State and members of the State Committee. Goa TMC is here to stay for years to come,” he said.
However, the party admits that they made mis-steps in the state, primarily by foregoing organic growth.
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Acknowledging mistakes
The rift between Trinamool Congress and Luizinho Faleiro began back in January 2022. After Abhishek Banerjee announced Faleiro’s candidature from Fatorda during a press conference, Faleiro withdrew his name on the last day of filing nomination leaving the Trinamool Congress in a fix.
A senior Trinamool congress leader told ThePrint, “Faleiro had not followed the party’s diktat and had run away from the fight from Fatorda. He was not able to deliver even from his own constituency of Navelim.”
The election results came as a rude shock to the Trinamool Congress. Even as they failed to score a seat in Goa, they secured eight percent vote share in their debut performance. But this was heavily dependent on IPAC’s ground report and Goa leaders who had joined TMC to secure the party’s poll fortune.
Speaking to ThePrint, MP Derek O’Brien admitted the party should have instead grown organically in Goa for a stronger connect with the people. “Among the mistakes was the hoarding splurge, the alliance with a party with ‘right-wing’ in their DNA, the rush to induct people. We needed to grow organically. Few have the ability to acknowledge mistakes and move forward with positive intent. We at TMC do,” he said.
Also Read: TMC made mistake of seeking votes in Goa without building organisation at local level: O’Brien
Goa political potboiler
As the BJP continues to increase its strength in the coastal state of Goa, it has two opposition parties- the Congress and the Trinamool Congress.
The Congress, which was the principal opposition party, is on the verge of a wipeout after eight of its 11 sitting MLAs joined hands with the BJP. The debutant Trinamool Congress in Goa is now utilising the vacuum created by Congress defectors to emerge as the only alternative to the BJP.
Political analyst and author of Gangster State: The rise and fall of CPIM in West Bengal, Sourjya Bhowmik says, “The Trinamool Congress has very little left in Goa. The BJP has now wiped out opposition and the politics of Goa has always been of convenience. If Faleiro decides to stay or go, the impact will be almost negligible on the ground for TMC.”
Political analyst and associate professor, political science at Bangabasi College, Udayan Bandopadhyay also echoed a similar perspective. He said, “Luizinho Faleiro was first in Congress, then he joined Trinamool, but he has failed to deliver. Faleiro is immaterial, the TMC has to understand the socio-economic background of Goa because mere structural changes won’t help the party in the State without a thorough understanding first.”
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
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