New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in her second visit to Goa, said the Trinamool Congress will not allow the ruling BJP to win elections in the state.
Addressing a public meeting in Benaulim, South Goa, Mamata Banerjee coined a new slogan of ‘Khel Jatlo’. Banerjee said, “Have played against the BJP, khel jatlo, BJP hatao.”
Read | Goa Elections 2022: No Alliance With Trinamool Congress, Says Aam Aadmi Party
The slogan is inspired by the call of “khela hobe (the game will be played)” given by the TMC ahead of the Bengal assembly elections this year, which saw the party take a swipe at the BJP.
Extending an olive branch to the Congress, Mamata Banerjee said it is for the Grand Old Party to decide whether it wants to join the anti-BJP faction before the elections, reports PTI.
“If Congress thinks they want to defeat BJP, we don’t mind. We already have MGP. If you want to join, join us. We have already formed an alliance,” PTI quoted TMC supremo as saying.
On Monday, Churchill Alemao, NCP’s lone legislator in Goa, merged the party’s state legislative unit with the TMC.
Banerjee claimed that TMC has already become an alternative to the saffron outfit in the state.
“MGP has joined the alliance, NCP has merged its legislative unit (with TMC). If anyone does not want to split votes, come and join us,” he said.
In the past few months, Mamata Banerjee has intensified her attack on the Congress, with her “there is no UPA” remark after a meeting with Sharad Pawar, calling for a strong reaction from the party.
To woo the large Christian community in Goa, Mamata Banerjee said she has been attending Christmas midnight for the last 20 years.
“After our government is formed, we celebrate Christmas in Kolkata in a big way. I am going to inaugurate a function on December 20,” she said. Banerjee also spoke about her close relationship with Mother Teresa, which led her to say that she was invited to the Vatican as well.
Earlier in the day, addressing local TMC leaders, Mamata Banerjee said that TMC entered the election fray not to control the state, but to use its experience to help Goans.
“TMC is ‘temple-mosque-church’. We fight the BJP. Is there any chance of winning? Do you believe we can win? If you are confident, don’t take a step back. March ahead, Banerjee he said.
“All these years we haven’t come to Goa, but we realized that nobody is doing anything. Nobody was fighting against the BJP. That’s why we thought of coming here,” he said.
He said that movies and football are among the various things that connect West Bengal and Goa. He said that many football stalwarts from West Bengal along with local leaders will reach Goa to campaign for the Trinamool Congress.
In the 2017 Goa Assembly elections, the Congress emerged as the single largest party in the 40-member house, but failed to form the government.
The BJP overtook the Congress and formed its own government by forming a post-poll alliance with some regional parties.
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