IT was a pathetic looking Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday who faced the executive of the Caroni East Constituency last Monday night (April 5).

Sources revealed that Panday, as chairman of the United National Congress (UNC), was part of the executive team that held the meeting with the renegade constituency that is fully backing MP Ganga Singh in his call for the chairman’s resignation.

For the records, the constituency executive refused to support the return of Ramesh Maharaj to the party, to become one of the so-called “Awesome Foursome”.

“That man (Panday) is going from bad to worse,” one party insider told TnT Mirror, shortly after the meeting ended.

“Would you believe that he told us that he is innocent of the charges against him, for failing to declare the London Bank account to the Integrity Commission, because he did not have $10 million, as the newspapers reported?” he noted incredulously.

“Bas and his cronies on the UNC’s Central Executive spent more than an hour trying to win over the Caroni East executive, but they could not have done that.

“In any event, MP Singh was at the meeting, too.”

The source revealed: “It was clear that their relations are still strained and that was the first occasion that they came face to face, since Singh threw words for Panday in the Lower House almost a month ago.

“The general consensus is that Panday is a liability to the party and that he has to go.”

The inside source continued: “While our executive members did not exactly tell him that, the people spoke their minds about the lack of consultation and democracy within the party and the need for the rank and file to have confidence in the voting process.”

In the meantime, renegade Ganga Singh continues to have the upper hand, as the disciplinary committee of the party remains in abeyance, because there has been no National Congress of the party which has to name the remaining members of that committee.

“It seems as if Panday is too caught up in his personal affairs to be concerned about Singh, whom he hopes will be dished up by the PNM, as allegations are flying that he could be the next man to land up in court on a charge,” the source ended.