Subhash or Sardinha?: Madam to call

The Congress, at least in Goa, they say needs no Opposition. It has one within, always.
Battle lines were being drawn within the ruling party as the coveted GPCC chief's post came up for grabs. Until a week ago, the elections to the collegium seemed well-managed for a status-quo. For, there's no anti-corruption unit in Madam's AICC, so spot-fix, right-fix, left-fix or centre-fix: you can fix it the way you want.
It seemed therefore that the incumbent Subhash Shirodkar was seated pretty. Not anymore though, what with an out-of-the-blue coup staged by South Goa MP, Francisco Sardinha, who made a strong pitch for the party chief's post himself.
Sardinha, together with another South Goa stalwart who like him was pushed to the sidelines by Election 2007 - Luizinho Faleiro - apparently did their homework well to undo all the match-fixing the 'establishment' within the party had managed with Senadi and Co, simply winking.
The unlikely Sardinha-Luizinho duo reportedly had a tete-a-tete at the latter's Borda bungalow with more than half the newly-elected block presidents and PCC members and were ready to take a go at Shirodkar who was reportedly backed by Digubab, if an election was to be held.
But fearing that the bitter battle would damage the party image and worsen the bad blood in the ranks, BK Hariprasad stepped in and ordered the one-liner be passed to authorise 'Madam' to name the next PCC president. The GPCC obliged on Sunday, instantly triggering another round of hectic lobbying in Delhi, which Hariprasad, Ahmad Patel and Co are all too happy to deal with.
Sardinha, it now emerges, is the strongest contender on the back of the argument that the post should be filled up with a minority community leader as the CM belongs to the majority.
The GPCC president's post gains significance as whoever holds it will be leading the party at the next hustings alongwith the CM. Also, he/she automatically is among the front-runners for the CM's chair, post-poll.
The last time this happened in 2007 - Pratapsing Rane as CM and Ravi Naik as GPCC chief - we saw a bitter post-poll tussle between the two for the top prize: CM's post. In the bargain, the never-thought-I'd-become-CM Diggubab, ran away with the trophy.

Dempo in GFA race
The Football Association election has triggered another hot race in Goa. Throwing his hat in the ring is Srinivas Dempo, the young chairman of football powerhouse Dempo group. His very stature, for sure, makes him the hot favourite but the incumbent GFA secretary, Savio Messias and Clube Sporting de Goa boss, Peter Vaz, too are in the fray and seem determined to ensure an election.
The next couple of weeks will see hectic lobbying in Goa's football circles, but chances are there will be no balloting. In fact, a number of stalwarts are said to be already at work, trying to convince Messias and Vaz to withdraw from the fray.
Meanwhile, the man to be watched is suave but highly manipulative AIFF Secretary Alberto Colaco. The towering soccer administrator from Salcete who's ruled the roost at the AIFF headquarters for nearly a decade it seems has had enough of Delhi and is keen to make a comeback to GFA.
Loud whispers can be heard indicating that the secretary's post which henceforth will be a paid job at the GFA will be reserved by the football establishment for him. According to the new (FIFA-like) constitution adopted by the GFA, the secretary will virtually function as the body's CEO, a perfectly suited position for Colaco who has presided over the country's professional (sic) football league since its inception in the mid-1990s.

What if...?
Finally, the government has been ordered by the Bombay High Court to remove the River Princess before the next monsoon! But will it?
A million dollar question this.
As of now, the government is considering the proposal of the vessel's original charterer Salgaocar Mining Industries, to remove it at no cost. From what we know, the company has no salvage experience to tow it away. It doesn't even have any experience of cutting ships. So, what if the ship is just broken there to corner the resultant bits of scrap and perpetuating a greater disaster than what already is at Sinquerim?
In the early years that the ship was grounded in 2000, 2001, 2002..., this is what the company had proposed to the government - shipbreaking!