Goa witnessed political carnival, Shiv Sena’s Raut in electoral fray after TMC, AAP

With the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) entering the fray for the Goa Assembly polls, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said a “political carnival” is going on in the state. Addressing a press conference, Raut also announced that his party would contest 22 to 25 seats in Goa without any pre-poll alliance, adding that if voted to power, his party would shut casinos in the state. Will give Elections to the 40-member Goa Assembly are to be held in February next year. Presently the state is ruled by BJP, while Congress is sitting in opposition. The Rajya Sabha said, “I have heard that TMC is contesting elections in Goa also. Political parties from Delhi and West Bengal are contesting in Goa. So many leaders are switching sides. What we are seeing in Goa is a political one. It’s carnival.” said the member.

He claimed that the Shiv Sena, which hails from neighboring Maharashtra, has a strong base in Goa where it has been present for more than two decades. “We are emotionally and culturally connected to Goa,” Raut said. Asked about the possibility of his party forging an alliance with the NCP and Congress in Goa, as happened in his home state, the Shiv Sena leader said, “The politics of Maharashtra is different from that of Goa.” He insisted that Shiv Sena’s move to contest the elections on its own would not lead to division of opposition votes. “We have our own base and with it we are sure of winning majority seats,” he said. Raut said his party has raised several issues in Goa, including the demand for reducing the duty hours of women police personnel in the state. Former Goa Congress MLA Luizinho Faleiro, who has joined TMC, announced on Thursday that the Mamata Banerjee-led party is planning to contest all 40 seats in Goa on its own. With party’s national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announcing free electricity up to 300 units per month and 80 per cent jobs for locals if his party comes to power, AAP has already taken off its cap ahead of the elections.