Political Pulse Of Goa Series : All India Trinamool Congress Party
Is four months enough to set up shop in a state and get the natives to vote for you as one of their own. Evidently not. The Trinamool Congress which arrived in Goa with a bang and a big splash promising to be the real that has the intent and the ability to oust the BJP has learnt the hard way that building goodwill among the people takes time.
In Goa for a second time now, having first come back in 2012, under the leadership of Dr Wilfred de Souza, the party placed its bets on Luizinho Faleiro a former Chief Minister and seven time MLA who they offered a Rajya Sabha seat to switch from the Congress.
It turns out that Faleiro’s departure has turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Congress, which also saw other nagging old grandfathers like Ravi Naik quit the party while Pratapsingh Rane has hung up his boots.
Instead the party has on its rolls the Alemaos and the Kandolkars which are its only realistic chances of winning any seats while the rest of its candidates are made up of rejects who joined the TMC only because they were denied the tickets of other parties like the Congress and the BJP.
Still to win 3-4 seats can be considered an achievement considering the party in its present avatar is only four months in the state. The AAP which had a far longer presence in Goa at the time of the 2017 elections failed to win any seats. By that yardstick, the TMC is in course to open its account which in itself can be branded as a success.
By Andrea Fernandes
