TN success propels Chodankar’s return as GPCC president

Margao: With the 2027 Goa assembly elections looming, Congress has turned to a tried and tested hand to steady its state unit — bringing back Girish Chodankar as Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president, replacing Amit Patkar, who helmed the organisation since March 2022.

The All India Congress Committee, in a communication issued by general secretary K C Venugopal on Friday, announced the reshuffle with immediate effect. M K Shaikh, Altone D’Costa and Carlos Alvares Ferreira have been named working presidents, while Datta Naik has been appointed treasurer.

What worked in Chodankar’s favour to be appointed as the GPCC president, sources said, is as AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu, he negotiated Congress’s entry into the TVK-led govt headed by CM C Joseph Vijay earlier this month — marking the party’s return to govt in the state after nearly six decades.

“The Tamil Nadu assignment burnished his credentials as a coalition builder and back-channel operative, making him, in the Congress calculus, the right man to lead a state unit in need of both discipline and direction,” a political observer said.

The return of Chodankar — widely regarded as a Rahul Gandhi loyalist with direct access to the Congress top brass — signals the party’s intent to sharpen its organisational edge ahead of what promises to be a high-stakes assembly elections.

Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao, South Goa MP Captain (retd) Viriato Fernandes and former MP Francisco Sardinha have been assigned to head the campaign, manifesto and coordination committees respectively, signalling a broad consolidation of experienced hands

Patkar’s exit comes against a backdrop of mounting internal dissatisfaction. According to Congress sources there was resentment within the party over his style of functioning, and the rumblings grew louder after Congress failed to stitch together a grand opposition alliance ahead of the zilla panchayat polls held in Dec 2025 — a setback seen as a missed opportunity to build pre-election momentum against BJP.