Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj is not losing sleep over his former Ramjack colleague's endorsement of Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar for leader of the United National Congress (UNC).In fact the Tabaquite MP has said despite all the hype surrounding Persad-Bissessar's campaign she is not going to win on January 24, 2010. “I am confident that this battle is between Basdeo Panday and Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj because of the feedback I am getting on the ground,” he told Newsday.
Maharaj also suggested that there are other signs that Persad-Bissessar is not going to reach the finish line in this race.
Speaking at a political meeting in South Trinidad, he noted that she is getting congratulatory messages from even the PNM and COP while he and Panday are not.
While the parties have not endorsed Persad-Bissessar at least two former PNM cabinet ministers and one top COP member have welcomed her entry in the race, with former PNM cabinet minister Ken Valley suggesting that there would be a Kamla landslide.
"Why would persons from other political parties congratulate one candidate over another in an internal party election?" he asked, then explained that it is because it is in their interest to get a leader of the UNC who will not be a threat to them.
He warned that the former education minister will not be able to stand up to Patrick Manning.
"If you think that Kamla Persad-Bissessar would be strong enough to withstand the dictatorship of Prime Minister Patrick Manning, vote Kamla. If you think that Kamla would be strong enough to withstand the pressures from other political parties, vote Kamla. If you think that Kamla would be able to resist the pressure for the UNC to be dissolved, vote Kamla." he said.
And he pledged to stand up for the UNC. "I would not stand idly by and allow the UNC’s political base to be taken over by any other political party. The UNC base cannot be bought, rented or sold," he said.
That's the same argument Panday has consistently used in defending his leadership.
He reminded his audience that he encouraged Panday to appoint Persad-Bissessar to the Senate in 1991, noting that she fought against the UNC in the 1991 general election with the NAR. He made no references to his own battles against Panday and his conspiracy with Manning to overthrow the UNC government.
The former attorney general made it clear that the election on January 24 is not about who is "nice" but who could stand up and confront Manning and "other forces", citing his own track record as a crime fighter. (Maharaj was Attorney General when the 9-member Dole Chadee gang was hanged.)
He said Persad-Bissessar is not in Panday’s class "no way, nowhere" as a fighter for the people.
Commenting on Warner's support for Persad-Bissessar he said that is his democratic right. "He is entitled to support whomever he wishes...I will remain friends with Mr Warner and Mr Gypsy."
The trio were the driving force behind the now disbanded Movement for Change that helped force the internal election.
He said when he and Warner were publicly calling for change in the UNC and the holding of internal elections, Persad-Bissessar supported Panday and condemned them.
Maharaj is running alone and will not have a team similar to what Panday is proposing for his campaign. He said he hopes to win and will work with other elected officials.
He said Warner knows that "I would not allow the political base of the UNC to be dissolved and to be absorbed by any other political party."
He also said no opposition can win an election without "Basdeo Panday and Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj."
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