MARGAO
Giving clear indications that the Goa Forward Party’s (GFP) brief honeymoon with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has ended, GFP chief Vijai Sardesai on Tuesday said his party would follow the voice and call of the people of Goa and work towards bringing all Opposition parties together to defeat the BJP in the 2027 Assembly elections.
The first indications of an abrupt end to the AAP-GFP alliance under the Goa First banner emerged on Tuesday, when GFP removed the alliance hoardings bearing the logos of AAP and GFP and portraying the Congress as a party of “cheaters and defectors.”
Sardesai said new banners carrying the people’s message of opposition unity to dislodge the BJP government would soon come up across the state.
Responding to AAP’s statement that the GFP should decide whether it stood with the people of Goa or with the BJP-Congress “joint venture,” Sardesai said voters were the “king” in politics, just as consumers were considered king in an economy.
“At the beginning of the mango season, Goemkars prefer Mankurad over Alphonso from the Konkan region or Dasheri from Delhi. These varieties will not sell in the Goan market because Goemkars prefer Mankurad at the beginning of the mango season. Similarly, politics is all about listening to the voice of the people. Right now in Goa, people want a grand alliance because they want all parties to come together to defeat the BJP,” he said.
He added that the decision to remove the banners was based on this “manifestation” of public sentiment. “When people want everybody to come together, we have decided to remove the banners. We did not disown anyone when we put up the hoardings, and now we will not disown anyone for having removed them. There is a call from the people of Goa for greater unity and a grand alliance to liberate the state from BJP rule,” Sardesai said.
Sardesai said the GFP could sense the mood and sentiment of the people because its leaders kept their “ears and eyes open” to developments on the ground.
“Goa Forward is rooted in Goa and represents Swabhimani Goemkars. Our party may be small and may have no funds, but we are a self-respecting party rooted in the ground,” he said. He said the GFP was not concerned about political developments in Delhi, Punjab or national politics. “We do not care about those who link politics in Delhi with Goa. We will go with the people of Goa,” Sardesai said. Sounding a clear warning and sending a message that the people of Goa wanted all parties to come together for a common cause, Sardesai invoked the staple Goan dish xitt-koddi. “People of Goa want all parties to come together to have xitt-koddi, the staple diet of Goemkars, and not samosas,” he said.
“I am with the people of Goa. We have heard the call of Goemkars that all should unite, and we are with the people,” Sardesai said.
Asked about the GFP’s future engagement with the Congress, Sardesai said the party would respond to such questions after the Pitru Paksha period ends over the weekend. “What we hear and read in the media about GFP’s merger or alliance is only in the realm of speculation. Let the Pitru Paksha period end, and GFP will unveil its future plans,” he added.
