Ahead of upcoming Assembly elections in Goa, the war of words between the TMC and the Congress has intensified with Mamata Banerjee-led party taking a jibe at the grand old party calling it the B-team of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Congress and the TMC have been trading charges with both parties accusing each other of being the B-team of the saffron party. “When one outfit helps the other blossom, there is little left to differentiate Congress from the BJP,” the TMC said.

“This nexus of “Congress Janta Party” has hurt the people enough and Goans have already started the farewell proceedings,” it added.

The elections will be held to elect 40 members of the Legislative Assembly in Goa in the month of February 2022. However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is yet to announce the schedule for the polls.

Goa to go for polls early next year 

The tenure of the current Legislative Assembly in Goa is scheduled to end on March 15, 2022.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main Opposition Congress remain principal contenders for the Assembly elections in the state, even as they try to get allies to fight the intense, multi-cornered battle.

Amid defections from the grand old party to the ruling BJP,  the Trinamool Congress (TMC) also announced its arrival by getting senior Congress leader and former chief minister Luizinho Faleiro on board.

On the other hand, Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had made an unimpressive political debut in the previous state elections, has again thrown its hat into the ring, keen on making an entry into the electoral arena.

In the 2017 Goa Assembly elections, Congress had emerged as the single largest party, winning 17 seats as against the BJP’s 13. However, the grand old party failed to swing into action and get allies to muster the simple majority figure of 21.