The ‘Goa First’ alliance was open to political parties other than the Congress and the BJP, AAP state president Valmiki Naik asserted at a press conference here.
The AAP and the Vijai Sardesai-led GFP on September 13 announced their alliance ‘Goa First’ for the 2027 assembly elections in the coastal state.
Read more: AAP mocks Congress over defections, Opposition friction grows in Goa
Soon after announcing the tie-up, Sardesai had said that his party was “ready for political realignment, if people demand”. He also said that ‘Goa First’ was not a non-Congress alliance and his party was ready to join hands with the other like-minded parties that want to defeat the BJP.
In the current 40-member Goa assembly, AAP has two MLAs while GFP has one. Sardesai’s party was an alliance partner of Congress in the 2022 elections.
Naik said the ‘Goa First’ alliance between AAP and GFP was open to political parties other than the Congress and BJP.Read more: AAP mocks Congress over defections, Opposition friction grows in Goa
“Goa First is open to all, excluding the Congress and BJP. There are conspiracies to break the alliance. Those who want no defections and no corruption can join the alliance,” he said.
Naik alleged that the Congress and BJP had together “destroyed” the state over the past decade.
“Vijai Sardesai needs to decide whether he stands with the BJP-Congress joint venture or the people of Goa,” he said, addressing media persons along with AAP MLAs Cruz Silva and Venzy Viegas.
The GFP leader was not available for a response.
Naik claimed defections between the Congress and BJP had become a recurring feature of Goa politics, and the trend would continue in the 2027 elections.
“If we see the last 40 years, they are full of defections. If we see history, only two parties — Congress and BJP — facilitate defections. For the last 10 years, there has been a complete mockery of democracy. There is a joint venture of the Congress and BJP,” Naik alleged.
He claimed the Opposition Congress was helping the ruling BJP to retain power in the state.
AAP also alleged that Congress could face another round of defections, pointing to Girish Chodankar’s return as the Goa chief of the grand old party. Chodankar had been at the helm during the two major defections from the Congress in 2019 and 2022, the AAP said.
The Congress and BJP have previously faced allegations and counter-allegations over defections in Goa.
The ‘Goa First’ alliance, announced last month in the presence of AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, has been dubbed as a “non-Congress, non-BJP” front.
