Barely forty days after it dived into Goa’s electoral fray for the 2022 election with an aggressive campaign, confusing signals emerged over the alliance strategy of Trinamool Congress. If we may recall, last Saturday party supremo Mamata Banerjee squarely blamed the Congress for delaying its decision on alliance formation and stated that it will only benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She raised the pitch for regional unity giving a broad indication of the party’s readiness to tie up with local outfits.
On Diwali eve, Derek O’Brien, the TMC leader overseeing party strategy in Goa called for a change in mindset and appealed for a united fight against the BJP, leaving many to wonder whether the party is open to the idea of a ‘larger alliance’ including the Congress. Left alone around three months ago, the regional players -- MGP and Goa Forward Party have suddenly found themselves extremely relevant to the electoral arithmetic. While MGP is going for a hard bargain with BJP drawing even national leaders to the negotiating table, Goa Forward has also upped its bargaining stakes.
The TMC, however, appears to have failed to read the finer contours of Goa’s political landscape forcing it to change direction. That it has begun waiving the olive branch to regional players, and sending subtle hints to Congress, are indications that the TMC has reconciled to the fact that it cannot fight the BJP alone. A string of prominent personalities have hopped on to the party bandwagon, including Goa-born tennis star Leander Paes, but the million-dollar question is whether the mileage drawn from the ‘star’ signings could translate into votes.
Now that parties are eying tie-ups, the big talking point would be seat-sharing, especially in areas where regional outfits have a foothold and in others where they fancy a chance. While the TMC certainly wants to play big brother and place itself as the main opposition, it has come to terms that the road to getting there is tough. This is why, the party has engaged Goa Forward, MGP and even Independents in discussing political permutations and combinations. However, despite the barrage of criticism over leadership, internal division and poor management, Congress remains the focal point with parties keenly awaiting its alliance decision. The TMC has even blamed it for the delay and connected it to strengthening Modi.
Parties are of the view that only a larger pre-poll alliance could avert multiple splits in secular votes. This is also an indirect inference that no single party is in a position to outplay the BJP, despite it being a target of all. The TMC is wooing regional parties; NCP and Goa Forward have shown consistent eagerness to forge a tie-up with Congress, and the BJP is trying to win over MGP to consolidate its position. On the flip side, while the Congress high command has given a green signal for alliances, the State unit still maintains that the party should go it alone. What remains to be seen is how parties align themselves, maintain an ideological symmetry, and keep up the promises made to the electorate.
