MARGAO
Just hours before Congress’ Goy Rakhonn campaign juggernaut rolled into South Goa, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched a sharp attack on the principal Opposition party, training its guns on the contentious issue of Congress MLAs defecting to the BJP.
The AAP attack came after senior party leaders held a late-night meeting on Saturday, attended by the party’s Goa desk in-charge, Atishi Marlena.
The move assumes significance on two counts. First, AAP is a partner in the Goa First alliance with the Goa Forward Party (GFP), which has been pushing for a grand alliance of all Opposition parties, including Congress, to take on the BJP.
Second, AAP’s sustained criticism of Congress is being seen as an indication that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party could chart an independent course in the upcoming polls if the GFP insists on pursuing an alliance with Congress.
Political observers believe the latest tirade against Congress suggests that AAP may be prepared to carry the Goa First alliance forward even if the GFP has second thoughts about the arrangement. While the GFP has maintained silence on the issue of Congress MLAs switching to the BJP, AAP appears keen to take the battle into the Congress camp should the proposed grand alliance of Opposition parties fail to materialise.
On the ground, the AAP leadership has been working over the past several months to expand its footprint beyond its traditional strongholds in Salcete.
In Salcete, the party is expected to go all out to retain the Velim and Benaulim seats, which it won in the 2022 Assembly elections. It is also working to build its presence in Curtorim, Cuncolim, Navelim, Nuvem and Margao.
An alliance with Congress, which currently appears to be a remote possibility, could force AAP to compromise on the organisational groundwork it has undertaken in these and other constituencies as part of its broader expansion strategy across Goa.
