Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday said his party and the NCP-Shiv Sena could not forge an alliance for the Goa Assembly polls, but asserted that they will “remain friends” and the Congress will continue even after the polls. Explore opportunities to “work together” with them. Chidambaram, who is the Congress’s senior election observer for the Goa Assembly elections, also hit out at the Trinamool Congress for not forging an alliance with the Congress, saying the party continued to hunt down Congress leaders, despite it having proposed . an alliance.
The senior Congress leader said that he has not received any instruction from the party leadership to hold talks with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and added that, “I am sure our leadership had taken into account all the facts and circumstances.” In an interview with PTI, Chidambaram said that among all states and union territories, Goa recorded the lowest growth in real GDP in 2019-20, the year for which the data was published by the RBI, and Said that the people of Goa “deserved better”. It also said whether the Congress will announce the name of the Chief Minister before or after the elections, it will be decided after consulting all the candidates and the party will run by consensus among them.
He also said that the contest in Goa elections is “between Congress (plus Goa Forward Party) and BJP and we will be able to get a simple majority”. Asked why the Congress could not forge an alliance with other opposition parties, especially the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena, Chidambaram said the NCP and Shiv Sena are allies of the Congress in Maharashtra and it would have liked them to be allies. Even in Goa. Chidambaram said, “We tried. They made some proposals. We made some proposals. Unfortunately, there was no meeting point. I accept that there were compulsions on both sides and despite our best efforts we did not get the meeting point.” “
“Nevertheless, we are friends and will remain friends. After the elections, we will continue to explore opportunities to work together with the NCP and Shiv Sena,” he said. After the 2019 assembly elections in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena, which was with the BJP till then, joined hands with the NCP and the Congress to form the government, which was named as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Shiv Sena and the NCP had earlier this month announced that they would contest the Goa elections together.
Asked about the Trinamool Congress being pulled up for not forging an alliance with the Congress, Chidambaram said he is not able to understand the Trinamool Congress position. He said, “They entered Goa a few months back and my esteemed friend Mamta ji announced in Goa that TMC has forged an alliance and any other party is welcome to join their alliance. TMC’s general secretary made the announcement. That the TMC will contest all 40 seats. Then, they lured Mr. Luizinho Faleiro, Congress MLA, to the TMC,” Chidambaram said. The Congress announced its first list of candidates on December 16, which included sitting MLA Reginald Lourenco. The name is included, and four days later, on 20 December, Lourenco was admitted to TMC, he said, detailing the sequence of events.
“On December 24, the TMC vice-president met me and suggested that both the parties should work together in Goa. I agreed to suggest my leadership and I did immediately,” he said. However, TMC continues to hunt down our leaders, sarpanches, panches etc, for example in Vasco and Marmugao, he said.
Chidambaram said, “I have not received any instruction from our leadership to hold talks with the Trinamool Congress. I am sure that our leadership has taken into account all the facts and circumstances. As far as I am concerned, the matter rests there. Has happened.” On the move of Congress MLAs in the current assembly to the BJP and what measures are being taken to prevent a repeat of the party, the Goa election in-charge of the Congress said that “loyalty” is the “top priority” for the party. The most important measure that has been implemented in 30 constituencies is that the candidates recommended by the block have been selected to contest, he said. “Blocs were told to keep loyalty as the top criterion. After this, the candidates automatically offered to take vows in front of a temple, a church and a dargah. I think such a pledge made a difference. Any doubts about the loyalty of our candidates to the Congress party and the voters who will vote for him in office have been dispelled,” Chidambaram said.
Ahead of the elections, Congress candidates, who were hit hardest by defection in the BJP-ruled state in the last five years, have taken an ‘anti-defection pledge’ in front of a temple, church and dargah. Asked whether the party would announce the chief minister’s face before the elections, Chidambaram said he has said that “we should announce the name of a CM before or after the election, after consulting all the candidates”. To be decided”. “We intend to do so. We will proceed by consensus among the candidates,” he said.
Asked whether the Congress was ready for a post-poll alliance, he said the contest was between the Congress (+GFP) and the BJP and expressed confidence that his party’s alliance would be able to get a simple majority. He said that after the elections, if other parties are ready to support the Congress-led government, the Congress will decide based on the circumstances. Chidambaram said the response from the ground is “positive” and expressed confidence that the Congress alliance will do well as “anti-BJP sentiment” is gaining momentum every day. He said the people of Goa want a non-BJP government after facing BJP’s “misrule” for 10 years. “Among all the states and union territories, Goa recorded the lowest in real GDP growth in 2019-20, for which data has been published by RBI? Goa and Goa are better,” he said.
Chidambaram exuded confidence that the people of Goa would vote for the Congress and its ally GFP to form the next government. Assembly elections will be held on February 14 for all 40 seats in Goa.
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