Panaji: Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) President Girish Chodankar on Sunday said the Congress is open to inducting fresh faces into the party but has firmly decided against taking back leaders who had defected to other political parties.
Speaking at a press conference alongside AICC Goa desk co-incharge Anjali Nimbalkar and Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee President Dr Pratiksha Khalap, Chodankar said the party’s priority is to strengthen its organisation by bringing in people who are committed to fighting the BJP.
“We welcome individuals who sincerely wish to join the Congress and contribute to strengthening the party. However, those who abandoned the Congress and joined other parties will not be re-inducted,” he said.
Chodankar also reaffirmed that the alliance between the Congress and the Goa Forward Party remains strong, adding that the opposition alliance would continue under the leadership of the Congress.
Highlighting the party’s commitment to women’s empowerment, he said the Congress is prepared to offer up to 50 per cent representation to women in elections wherever suitable candidates are available.
“Wherever capable women leaders are ready to take up responsibilities, we are willing to go beyond the existing 30 per cent reservation and provide up to 50 per cent opportunities to women,” he said.
He added that the Congress aims to increase women’s participation in public life and ensure deserving women candidates are given a chance to contest elections.
The announcements come as the Congress intensifies its organisational efforts ahead of the next electoral cycle, seeking to expand its base and position itself as the principal opposition to the BJP in Goa.
The party has faced major setbacks in recent years, with ten Congress MLAs joining the BJP in 2019 and another group of eight MLAs switching sides after the 2022 Assembly elections.
