Lourenco is the second Congress MLA to quit the party in the last few days.
His resignation has “shocked and betrayed” party seniors, and so his move came after the Congress released its first list of eight candidates, which also included his name.
Though top party leaders tried to play down his exit, asserting that the party’s electoral strategy would not be affected in any way, his sense of betrayal was quite evident.
“Congress has seen a lot of ups and downs. In the new year, the people of Curtorim will get a new Congress MLA,” said opposition leader Digambar Kamat while addressing a press conference along with Goa Congress president Girish Chodankar and other office-bearers.
Kamat called Lourenco’s exit “suicidal”, while Chodankar said, “No one can save someone who is on the path of suicide.”
Congress Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao said, “Those who act selfishly and betray trust will have to face the consequences. Till the end they kept misleading us Minute, I am sure the voters of Curtorim will teach him a tough lesson.
Kamat said that he would tell the people how Lourenço had betrayed him. “We have decided to go ahead aggressively and explain to the people how they have betrayed us,” he said.
Kamat compared Lourenço’s leaving the party to “a son in the family who is a drug addict” and “has not given up his addiction” despite his best efforts to save him. “In such a situation, the blame does not lie with the family. His passing has been a blessing in disguise. If more people want to go, they are free to do so. I will lead the party from the front,” Kamat said.
Sources said what has hurt the Congress the most is that the party went out of its way to stop him from joining the AAP a month ago, and also ignored many of Lourenco’s alleged anti-party activities. done.
Recently, the Congress lost Moreno Rebello, a former district panchayat member from Curtorim, to the BJP. Rebelo, vying for the Congress ticket in Curtorim, resigned from the party following the elevation of Lourenço as working president of the party after realizing that he had no chance.
“He was pampered by the party, yet he left. He met Fadnavis. But we ignored it. When he planned to join AAP, we went to meet him at his house and requested him not to resign.
Soon after, Lourenco was appointed acting chairman. “Today, he has suddenly quit the party despite the announcement of his candidature,” he said.
Chodankar said Lourenço’s “crimes” were ignored by the party, even though he “compromised the party’s interests” on several occasions by having ties with late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and most recently Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
“The party nominated his name for the speaker’s post in 2017, but he declined. He did not turn up to vote in the House. We forgave him, yet he betrayed us,” Chodankar said.
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