Team Herald
PANJIM: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has welcomed Congress leaders’ moves towards forming a grand alliance to fight the 2017 Assembly elections, claiming this stems from a fear of defeat.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, BJP State President Vinay Tendulkar said the party welcomes the opposition’s concept of a grand alliance, which as Congress fears defeat in the next election. “We would only like to suggest that before going for any grand alliance, party (Congress) should have an alliance within itself and make its party base strong,” Tendulkar quipped.
The BJP leader’s statement comes on the heels of internal conflict within the Congress, wherein the party stands divided on the issue of a grand alliance. While some legislators, including Vishwajit Rane, Digambar Kamat, Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco and Jennifer Monserrate support a grand alliance, Pradesh Committee members including State unit President Luizinho Faleiro are reluctant to align with other parties.
“The opposition MLAs are scared they might not even win the elections next year. That is the reason why a move is on for a grand alliance,” Tendulkar said.
BJP, however, maintained that its coalition with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) will continue for the 2017 elections. “BJP-MGP alliance is intact and it will continue. Hence, I don’t feel any grand alliance will make any difference. People of Goa are not fools… they know the kind of work BJP has done through development and social welfare schemes in the last four-and-a-half years,” he stated.
Countering allegations levied by opposition members against the free LED bulbs scheme, Panjim MLA Siddharth Kuncolienkar along with Tendulkar said BJP’s growing popularity due to various welfare schemes is giving sleepless nights to the opponents. “They (opposition MLAs) are worried with BJP’s growing popularity and hence are making baseless allegations that the scheme is a scam,” he said.
They even pointed out that the scheme was highly praised by Leader of the Opposition Pratapsingh Rane.
The party also justified the Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar distributing LED bulbs in the State claiming ‘he is a people’s leader and would always like to be connected with the people of Goa’.
