Goa Forward Party, Trinamool exchange barbs on final day of nomination

Goa’s election season is heating up with accusations and counter accusations flying thick and fast between the principle opposition parties – the Congress, the Goa Forward Front and the new entrant, Trinamool Congress.

The Congress and Vijai Sardesai-led Goa Forward Party (GFP), which are in an alliance for the February 14 assembly polls, on Saturday (January 29) alleged the Trinamool Congress and poll strategy firm IPAC were collecting voter data in a “dubious manner”.

Goa Congress general secretary Sunil Kawthankar and GFP general secretary (organisation) Durgadas Kamat told reporters the two parties had jointly submitted a complaint with the Chief Election Commission in New Delhi against the TMC and Prashant Kishor-led IPAC.

Kawthankar claimed the TMC and IPAC are giving out cards to women claiming they will get money once the Mamata Banerjee-led party comes to power here, and in the process were collecting personal details. “The TMC claims some three lakh women and over two lakh youth have enrolled for these schemes. It is not an awareness drive for their 2022 election campaign, but in fact a massive data collection drive in a dubious manner, which will be used for other purposes,” Kawthankar alleged.

Kamat said a complaint has been lodged with the CEC and promised the TMC and IPAC would not be allowed to carry on with this exercise.

Also read: Fly in fly out: Why turncoats sit pretty in Goa

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and GFP, the two parties which not very long ago were talking alliance, are at loggerheads once again. Both the parties accused the other of helping the BJP win the state polls. The tussle started when the TMC fielded former Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro against GFP strongman Vijay Sardesai from Fatorda constituency.

On the last day of nomination, Falerio withdrew but TMC’s fight with the GFP is on. Faleiro is now TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal.  Trinamool MP Mohua Moitra said Sardesai should not be trusted because he helped the BJP gain power in 2017. Moitra said Sardesai and another MLA joined the BJP in 2017 to enjoy power and the same leader is now accusing the Trinamool Congress of dividing the opposition vote in the Fatorda seat.

Sardesai said the Trinamool had nominated Faleiro without consulting him and has now nominated Faleiro’s kin instead.

Moitra asked: “Who is the secular vote here?” She said Sardesai won in 2017 opposing the BJP and surreptitiously joined hands with the same party. “People have seen it once. Can you fool the same people twice?” Moitra asked.

Faleiro urged voters of Fatorda to understand the gameplan of Congress, BJP and Goa Forward Party. He asked for voters’ “blessings” and vote for TMC candidates.

Vijai Sardesai responded to Moitra’s barb by hitting back at the Trinamool. “The Faleiro episode has exposed the TMC’s hand in Goa completely. First his (Faleiro) nomination. He is a Rajya Sabha MP from Bengal, nominated for a seat in Goa against one of the most vocal opposition leaders. This was done without my consent and without my knowledge, by Bengali politicians sitting in Bengal,” Sardesai said.

“Trinamool has come to Goa with an agenda. The agenda is to use Goa 2022 for India 2024,” Sardesai added.

For records, Sardesai had played an important role in BJP returning to power after the 2017 polls. Back then, no party had the required 21 seats to form the next government. The Congress emerged as the single-largest party with 17 seats while the BJP had 13. Sardesai and two others went against the Goa Forward Party’s agenda and joined hands with the BJP. And the rest is history.