Panaji: The Aam Aadmi Party’s Goa unit on Monday questioned its newly formed alliance partner, Goa Forward Party, over its political position, asking whether GFP leader Vijai Sardesai stood with what it called the “Congress-BJP joint venture” or with the people of Goa.
The remarks came days after AAP and GFP announced an alliance ahead of the 2027 Goa Assembly elections.
Addressing a press conference, AAP Goa President Valmiki Naik, along with party MLAs Cruz Silva and Capt Venzy Viegas, alleged that the Congress and BJP had together “destroyed Goa” over the past decade.
“Vijai Sardesai needs to decide whether he stands with the BJP-Congress joint venture or the people of Goa,” the party said.
Naik alleged that defections between the Congress and BJP had become a recurring feature of Goa politics and claimed that the trend would continue in the 2027 elections.
“If we look at the last 40 years, we see a history full of defections. If we look at history, only two parties facilitate defections, namely the Congress and BJP. For the last 10 years, it has been a complete mockery of democracy. There is a joint venture between the Congress and BJP,” Naik said.
He also alleged that the Congress was helping the BJP return to power in the state.
Naik said the “Goa First” alliance between AAP and GFP was open to political parties other than the Congress and BJP.
“Goa First is open to all, excluding the Congress and BJP. There are conspiracies to break the alliance. Those who want no defections and no corruption can join the alliance,” he said.
AAP also alleged that Congress could face another round of defections, pointing to Girish Chodankar’s return as the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President. The party said Chodankar had been at the helm during the two major rounds of defections from the Congress in 2019 and 2022.
The Congress and BJP have previously faced allegations and counter-allegations over defections in Goa.
AAP had announced its alliance with the Goa Forward Party last month, calling it “Goa First.” The alliance, which was announced in the presence of AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, described itself as a “non-Congress, non-BJP” front.
When contacted, GFP President Vijai Sardesai was unavailable for comment.
