Panaji: Sportspersons Goa is very in demand.
From footballers to Cricketers even boxing officials all entered the political ring as the country prepared assembly polls early next year.
Maybe, this is the first time in the history of the cave election that the sportsman has revoked the center of attention from the field, because they are being pursued by political parties.
Two of the names of Goa’s biggest sports, Brahmanand Shankhwalkar and Bruno Coutinho – Both former captain of the Indian football team and the Arjuna award winner – on the list of Trinamool Congress, who were signing spree in the state.
“I will not deny what you have heard, but don’t talk politics,” said Coutinho, who was the director of coaching with the Goa Sports Authority (SAG) and still had nine more years in government services.
Shankhwalkar, on the other hand, is the chairman of the Government-managed Goa Football Board (GFDC) with the annual budget of Rs 5 Crore.
Both are reluctant to submit their position and plunge into uncertain political politics.
While Shankhwalkar and Coutinho continued to reflect on their steps, former Indian defender Denzil Franco and officially India Lenny Da Gama joined TMC on Saturday.
“We are happy and lucky both of them have joined us today (Saturday).
You will see more joining us soon,” Former Indian Bengal and Bengal Manoj Sports Minister Tiwary told Tii.
Guided by a survey conducted by the Prashant Kishor I-PAC political strategy group, TMC has established contact with several sportsmen.
The former Indian coach Armando Colaco, a member of the active Congress, has been looking for time to call, while the former Derrick Pereira and Camilo Gonsalves, the man who scored the winner when Goa won the Santosh trophy for the first time in 1984, continued to receive calls.
TMC has entrusted the convincing responsibility of Goan’s sportsmen to Tiway and Lok Sabha MP Spread Banerjee, former Indian football captain.
Duo has been in Goa for a while and prospective candidates have been told to just “say yes” and not worry about the lack of their political experience.
However, it was Congress who began a commotion to make a sportsman on his side.
The first congress convinced the former Indian midfielder Alvito D’Cunha and appointed former Cricketer Ranji Trophy Avdhoot Amonkar as his quepem block president.
Robin d’Souza, another leading cricketer of Goan, has now joined the party.
“We must clean the politics of Goan full of corruption, destruction and defection,” said the Geo Chodankar Gear Congress.
“To clean politics, we need new people, those who have big followers.
Now people are not able to stay outside.
They have to enter politics and clean the system from within.
We try to involve more and more icons,” he said.
Such thoughts did not exist when the Selection of the State Assembly was held in 2017.
Goa’s advanced party has included former Captain of the State Cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL) Shadab Capital (IPL) in his staff but did not watch him in Mormagao.
The former Indian Hockey goalkeeper Loretta D’Souza played the election with AAP tickets but ended fifth in Vasco with less than 4% of the vote.
Political observer said making a sportsman on board either for the construction of the party brand but did not guarantee that their presence would translate to automatic sound.
However, TMC, seeing different sportsmen.
“Those who join us will definitely help our parties achieve the goals to win each constituency and form the government,” Tiwary said.
“There is an urgent need to recognize sportsmen and give them respect.
I can say from my own experience that you must be on the system to make changes.
You need a platform to raise your voice.
This platform will give you space and strength to make changes, “He said.