Congress to offer Olive Branch to dissidents

The Congress is most likely to approach its dissidents who have filed nominations as independent candidates so that candidates of the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance do not face any difficulty in winning the March 3 assembly polls.

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) working president, Francisco Sardinha, told reporters on Monday, “We (party) will sit down and discuss whether to approach dissidents… to convince Congress rebels to withdraw their nominations from the assembly elections.”

He said the party will fight this assembly election under his leadership. “I am in charge right now and Congress will win at least 22-23 seats,” stressed Sardinha.

He added that if the Congress is voted back to power it will “try to give a very clean government” while “some tainted persons may be kept out of the government”.

Sarindha is hopeful the alliance will win all 11 seats allotted to families: Ravi and Ritesh Naik, Churchill and Valanka Alemao, Joaquim and Yuri Alemao, Pratapsingh and Vishwajit Rane, Atanasio and Jennifer Monserrate, and Pandurang and Dhaku Madkaikar.

He said the Congress manifesto would most likely be released in the next two days and he is sure the Goan electorate “will give the Congress a chance to fulfill its remaining assurances”. “We are sure that with the cooperation of all Congress workers the party will form the next government in Goa,” said Sardinha.