With a little more than two months left for the Goa Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress appears determined to do “whatever necessary” to ensure that the BJP does not form the next government. Despite tense moments earlier in the poll campaign, the party had recently hinted at its willingness to form an anti-BJP alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress and others.
The assertion came earlier this week from the party’s Goa desk in charge Mahua Moitra, even as she admitted that no such discussion has been held yet on pre-poll alliances. “The TMC wants to defeat BJP and will do whatever necessary. We want to ensure that BJP does not win or form a government through the backdoor,” she had said during a recent press conference in Panaji.
In an earlier tweet to the same effect, Moitra had also tagged the Goa Forward Party (GFP), Congress and its existing ally, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). “The AAP is also part of the anti-BJP space. I may not have added them in the tweet. We are also including them,” she had clarified later, contending that “nothing is impossible in politics”.
The remarks also come mere weeks after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal dismissed the party as a new entrant that was yet to make its mark on the people of the coastal state. “I think TMC doesn’t have even a 1% vote share as of now. It came to Goa only 3 months back, democracy doesn’t work like this. You need to work hard and you need to work among people,” he had said in mid-December.
The AAP chief has also been vocal in his criticism of the Congress and other political parties in the fray. “The Goans has already tried Congress for 27 years, MGP and BJP for 15 years. This time Goa should give a chance to AAP and Goans would see a noticeable difference,” he had been quoted as saying during the same public event.
The Congress too remains non-committal, with Congress leader P Chidambaram telling reporters that it was best to wait for official communication. “We’re capable of defeating BJP but if any party wishes to support, why should I say no?” he remarked.
