"Exposed" In Goa: Regional Party Slams Trinamool, MP Counters With...

Goa Assembly Elections 2022: Trinamool accused the Goa Forward Party of helping the BJP while the latter said Trinamool was dividing opposition votes.

On the last day of nominations for the assembly elections in Goa, the Trinamool Congress and the Goa Forward Party slammed each other, both accusing the other of helping the BJP. Earlier, the two parties were in talks for an alliance but it fell through and the Trinamool fielded its most prominent leader in Goa, former state Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro, against Vijai Sardesai of the Goa Forward Party. Mr Falerio withdrew his candidature today but that did not stop Trinamool MP Mohua Moitra from attacking Mr Sardesai for helping the BJP gain power in 2017 and also supporting it earlier.

While Ms Moitra attacked Mr Sardesai for joining the BJP and "enjoying the benefits" for five years, the latter accused the Trinamool of dividing the opposition vote in the Fatorda seat by first nominating Mr Faleiro "without his knowledge or consent" and then nominating his relative after his withdrawal. Mr Faleiro is now Trinamool's Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal. 

Mr Sardesai was key to the BJP coming to power in the state during the 2017 assembly election, where no single party had the required 21 seats to form the government. The Congress had 17 while the BJP had 13. Mr Sardesai, along with two of his party colleagues, supported the BJP even when his party had opposed the BJP during the campaign. 

"Who is the secular vote here? Mr Sardesai was elected from here and went to join the BJP. People have seen it once. Can you fool the same people twice? If this was a secular vote, after being elected he should have said I will resign, I will face the people of Fatorda and win on a non-BJP alliance myself. Did he have the guts to do that? He got elected on a ticket, went and joined the BJP and for five years enjoyed the benefits of being with the BJP and he is coming and giving us all this garbage about being the secular vote?" she said while speaking to reporters today.