To avoid 2017 Goa Mistake, Congress proposes a new plan
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Delhi: Congress leaders have been travelling across four of the five states that voted, including Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand, and Manipur in the past month.
A source said today that these leaders would be on hand to act quickly if elections went to a hung assembly, including on alliances and tie-ups.
These preemptive measures are unusual for the opposition party, but they have been discussed in Rahul Gandhi's strategy meetings.
During the 2017 election, the Congress won 17 of the 40 seats in Goa, while the BJP won 13 and took power with the support of smaller parties and independents.
Two years later, 15 Congress legislators joined the BJP, including Babu Kavlekar, who later became the BJP's Deputy Chief Minister.
In the past few weeks, the Congress has even had its candidates swear an oath in Rahul Gandhi's presence. However, the party knows that this symbolic gesture may not be enough to hold back its members as the race to power begins.
A campaign called "mission MLA" has also been launched by the Congress in Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Manipur. In at least two of these states, however, a hung verdict is likely.
Several sources say that the party is considering sequestering its MLAs in Rajasthan as well; the Congress-ruled state is used to "resort politics" that have become a staple of recent state elections.
