Split in Goa Forward Party, working president Kiran Khandolkar joins TMC
Goa Forward Party Working President Kiran Kandolkar along with his wife Kavita Kandolkar, have joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
Former MLA and Goa Forward Party working president Kiran Kandolkar on Saturday broke party rank and, along with his wife Kavita Kandolkar, joined the Trinamool Congress. At least 40 other dissenting party office bearers and local body leaders also took the cue and joined the TMC.
Kandolkar was welcomed into the party by MP Mahua Moitra and TMC national vice president Luizinho Faleiro. He reportedly quit the GFP in protest against a possible alliance with the Congress for the upcoming state Assembly polls.
"No other party apart from TMC is serious about defeating the BJP in Goa," Kiran was quoted as saying by PTI.
The TMC looks to strengthen its ranks in Goa, as several leaders have already joined hands with the Mamata Banerjee-led party. In September, former chief minister of Goa, Luizinho Faleiro, quit the Congress and joined the TMC. He was named vice president within a month of joining the party.
READ | TMC stands for temple, mosque, church: Mamata Banerjee in Goa
In October, tennis player Leander Paes, actor Nafisa Ali and entrepreneur Mrinalini Deshprabhu joined the TMC in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee, who was on a three-day visit to the BJP-ruled state, said that the TMC did not intend to divide votes in the coastal state, and if they came to power, Goa would not be run from Delhi.
The TMC doesn't divide people on the basis of religion but ''we unite people,'' and the party's initials "stand for temple, mosque and church," Banerjee added. During her visit, she met local party leaders and also interacted with members of the fishing community at Malim Jetty.
Also Read | Trinamool Congress appoints MP Mahua Moitra as party's Goa in-charge
Meanwhile, the BJP appeared confident of a victory in Goa. The party's national general secretary Dilip Saikia said the BJP will face a tough challenge in Punjab, but will retain power in four out of five states.
“We have the governments in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. We will definitely win the upcoming elections in these four states. The BJP-led NDA government will be again formed in four states with the help of people," Dilip Saikia said in an interview to Aajtak/India Today TV.
In the 2017 Goa Assembly polls, Congress had won 17 seats in the 40-member House, restricting the BJP to 13. However, the BJP allied with regional parties - GFP and MGP - to form a government under the late Manohar Parrikar.