MAPUSA
Merging with another party is not an option and will never be considered at any point of time, said Fatorda MLA and Goa Forward Party President Vijai Sardesai, suggesting that Congress, with whom his party hopes to strike an alliance, should not even contemplate on it.
Sardesai also said, on Sunday, that he was not dreaming to be the chief minister but trying to respect public sentiment by working to get like-minded forces together in the State.
“There is no question of merging with any party. It has not come up and will never come up. We are not even thinking of it. We are a party that is recognised. We have a 75 per cent strike rate,” Sardesai said while addressing the media during his tour in Aldona along with party’s working president, Kiran Kandolkar who has decided to contest from the constituency.
The GFP chief said that so far there has been no headway in talks over alliance with the Congress. “The response with a certain section of the Congress in the State that I am in touch with has been encouraging and that is why we were pursuing with the idea (of alliance). But there is another section that is vehemently opposing the alliance. It won’t be appropriate to discuss on it just yet,” he said but added that people’s sentiments have to be respected.
“A lot of people think that we should come together and fight the BJP. I respect the public sentiment. I am not saying that I want to be the chief minister by fielding candidates in 40 seats. I am thinking of working with like-minded forces in Goa,” he added.
Sardesai said the chief minister had no right to speak about other parties and their political strategies.
“We are working on the opposition unity. The Chief Minister can only be helped by a disunited opposition. And he is banking heavily on that. He is capable of dividing the opposition. He is trying his best,” he said, when asked to comment on the Chief Minister’s recent comment that certain opposition parties were begging for alliance.
He said the Bhumiputra bill was consigned to the dustbin as the governor was yet to receive the bill for his assent.
“The bill was brought to placate a section of the voters. I challenge the Chief Minister to convene the assembly to discuss only on the Bhumiputra bill,” Sardesai said.
