MARGAO
One beaten, twice shy, so goes the saying. After being ignored and let down by Congress in 2017, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has said the party is gearing up for the 2022 election, leaving the ball in the court of the Congress to take all like-minded secular parties together.
Party lone MLA Churchill Alemao warned political parties not to take the NCP for granted, saying the party can even win five out of the eight seats at stake in minority Salcete.
The NCP on Wednesday constituted the Nuvem block by appointing Franky D’Mello as the president.
NCP Chief Jose Philip later told the media that the NCP is open to having a truck with Congress to unitedly fight the 2022 election. “Last time round, the Congress kept the NCP waiting till the last minute, before going alone in the election. We are preparing ourselves for the electoral battle on our own. If Congress want to have an alliance with us, it is fine. Or, else the NCP will field candidates in all the 40 Assembly constituencies,” he warned.
Saying that various political players are in touch with the NCP, with offers to contest the election on the party symbol, Jose Philip said all these talks and discussions will come in the public domain before the elections.
Asked why the NCP is open for a tie-up with the Congress when the principal opposition party had rejected all offers for an alliance in 2017, Jose Philip said this is exactly the reason why the NCP is gearing up for the Assembly polls. “Unlike last time, we have started our work in certain constituencies. If the time comes, the NCP may even field candidates in all the 40 constituencies,” he warned.
MLA Churchill Alemao said NCP was not prepared for all the 40 constituencies in 2017, adding that the party will go all out to contest the election. Without taking names of any party, but hinting directly at the Congress, Churchill said some people think they can win the election by going alone. “If they go with this attitude in mind, we have no problem. Let they say, but they should remember that they cannot take the NCP for granted this time round,” he added.
