GPCC president Girish Chodankar has launched a sharp attack on the proposed ‘Goa First' Alliance involving Goa Forward Party (GFP) and AAP, claiming that the alliance will not impact Congress and predicting that it could be the last electoral battle in Goa for both parties.
“This will be GFP and AAP’s last election in Goa, so for them, it will be ‘Goa Last’. They don’t have the blessings of Goans. Congress will not be affected by their alliance. People have started recalling what happened in 2017,” Chodankar said.
On the Fatorda Assembly constituency, Chodankar said Congress will contest from the seat with the aim of winning rather than merely defeating GFP chief Vijai Sardesai.
“Now, since there is no alliance with GFP, we will contest from Fatorda to win, not to defeat Vijai,” he said.
Chodankar also claimed that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant would not allow former MLA and BJP Goa President Damu Naik to contest from Fatorda, arguing that a victory could put Naik in the race for the Chief Minister’s post.
“The CM will 100% not allow Damu to contest from Fatorda. If Damu wins, he will be in the race to become CM,” Chodankar said.
Taking a further swipe at Sardesai, Chodankar alleged that he has noticed a change in Sardesai’s opposition to the Chief Minister following the cash-for-jobs controversy.
“After the cash-for-jobs issue, I have seen a closeness between CM Sawant and Vijai. He was aggressively opposing the CM, but after the cash-for-jobs issue, he has toned down,” he said.
