The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Goa Forward Party (GFP) have joined hands to form the Goa First Alliance, positioning the new political front as an alternative to both the BJP and Congress ahead of the 2027 Goa Assembly elections.

AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal and GFP president Vijai Sardesai announced the alliance at a joint press conference in Goa, where they said the formation would focus on protecting Goa’s interests, keeping opposition votes together and taking a stand against political defections.

Sardesai said the alliance was being formed in response to what he described as a long-standing demand from Goans for a united opposition. He said voters who had supported different political parties had seen their mandates undermined by elected representatives switching sides.

He said the issue of defections had damaged Goa’s political credibility and claimed that the Goa First Alliance would provide voters with a different political option. Sardesai added that discussions were also underway with individuals from other parties who were unhappy with the trend of defections.

Explaining GFP’s decision to partner with AAP, Sardesai recalled that his party had contested the 2022 elections in alliance with Congress, but later ended those discussions and began talks with AAP.

“I have not cheated anyone,” Sardesai said, defending the political shift and maintaining that the alliance was based on the need to create a credible alternative for the upcoming election.

Sardesai also pointed to AAP’s two MLAs in Goa, saying neither had defected despite the party having a small presence in the Assembly. He contrasted this with the political switching witnessed among larger parties in the state.

Kejriwal, meanwhile, acknowledged that some AAP Rajya Sabha MPs had crossed over to other political formations. However, he said such defections amounted to a betrayal of the party and not the voters who had elected them.

He said AAP would take greater care while choosing its Rajya Sabha nominees in the future.

Kejriwal also argued that the BJP’s anti-incumbency could create a section of voters who would not be inclined to return to Congress but could consider supporting either AAP or GFP. In such a scenario, he said, the alliance could prevent the opposition vote from being fragmented.