PANAJI: On the eve of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge’s visit to Goa, Goa Forward Party (GFP) chief Vijai Sardesai on Sunday claimed that people in Goa had become convinced that the Congress could “do a hat-trick in defections” in 2027.
Kharge is scheduled to visit Goa on Monday to attend a meeting with Congress booth-level workers. Sardesai said the visit was an internal programme of the Congress and that the party’s focus was on strengthening its organisation across the State.
According to Sardesai, both Kharge and Congress general secretary KC Venugopal had visited Goa with the objective of strengthening the Congress organisation across all 40 blocks. He, however, maintained that the GFP had its own objective of strengthening its regional political presence throughout Goa.
Sardesai said the GFP would reach out to people across the State in an effort to rebuild their confidence in the Opposition and convince them that opposition parties remained serious about taking on the BJP-led government in Goa.
“Be it Kharge or KC Venugopal, they have come to Goa to strengthen the Congress party. Their intention is to strengthen the party in all 40 blocks. Our intention is to strengthen our regional party across the State,” Sardesai said while speaking to the media.
Asked whether the GFP could hold discussions with the Congress leadership regarding a possible political understanding or alliance, Sardesai said there was currently “nothing left to talk about”. He accused the Congress of going back on its commitments and indicated that the GFP had already taken a decision not to engage in talks with the party at present.
Sardesai said that the GFP would reveal the details of its interactions with the Congress at an appropriate time. He maintained that the people of Goa would eventually be informed about the extent to which his party had gone in attempting to engage with the Congress.
“When the time comes, we will disclose everything to the people of Goa, including the extent to which we had gone to interact with the Congress. Right now, I belong to the Goa Forward Party and the party has taken a decision not to talk to the Congress,” he said.
The GFP chief also rejected the idea that alliance discussions could be conducted through public statements or announcements made in the media. He made it clear that, as of now, there were no alliance talks between the GFP and the Congress or with any other political party.
Sardesai’s remarks come at a time when opposition parties in Goa are assessing their political strategies ahead of the next electoral battle. While the Congress is working to strengthen its grassroots organisation, the GFP is focusing on expanding its own regional political base.
“At the moment, there are no alliance talks with the Congress or anybody else,” Sardesai said, adding, “Yesterday, we celebrated Independence Day and everybody is now independent.”
His comments underline the current distance between the GFP and Congress, despite both parties being in opposition to the BJP-led government in Goa. Sardesai indicated that, for now, the GFP would pursue its own political course while reaching out directly to voters across the State.