Punjab Junction Newspaper | 13 January 2022
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar said on Tuesday that his party is in talks with the Congress and Trinamool Congress (TMC) for an alliance in the upcoming assembly election in Goa.
Addressing a press conference, Pawar said, “We are in talks with Congress and Trinamool Congress for an alliance for Goa Assembly elections.”
In neighbouirng Maharashtra, the NCP is one of the coalition partners in the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government along with the Congress party and Shiv Sena.
Regarding Uttar Pradesh, Pawar said his party will contest the election with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) and other smaller parties.
“The people of Uttar Pradesh are looking for a change. We will surely see the change in the state. Communal polarisation is being done in Uttar Pradesh, ahead of Assembly elections. The people of UP will give a befitting reply to this,” the veteran politician said during the press conference.
When asked about Swami Prasad Maurya’s resignation from the Yogi Adityanath cabinet, the veteran leader said 13 MLAs are going to join the Samajwadi Party (SP).
Meanwhile, Pawar’s call for an alliance in Goa came amid a buzz regarding the Congress and TMC joining hands for assembly elections in the tourist state. However, senior Congress leaders have denied any such development at the moment.
Earlier, the Congress had said that it is ready to accept the support of any party that is keen to defeat the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Days ago, TMC’s Mahua Moitra had said the party will do everything possible to defeat the BJP.
“We have already entered into a pact with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) for the Goa polls. There is a space for one more constituent in our pact. Either the Congress or the AAP can join this pact if they are serious about defeating the BJP in Goa,” a top TMC leader told Hindustan Times on Monday.
Election to the 40-seat Goa assembly in February is witnessing a multifaceted battle with the TMC and AAP entering the fray, besides the ruling BJP and Congress. The regional parties Goa Forward Party and MGP have already entered alliances with one of these parties. Both TMC and AAP have announced a slew of promises should they form a government in Goa
In the 2017 mandate, Congress won the majority with 17 seats out of the total 40. The BJP came second with 13 seats.
However, the saffron party managed to secure support from other smaller parties and independent candidates and went on to form the Goa government with the late Manohar Parrikar as the chief minister. Pramod Sawant was given the state’s reins following Parrikar’s demise.
