The Congress par ty will continue to forge a pre-poll alliance with like-minded parties for the upcoming 2027 Goa Assem bly elections while slam ming its doors shut on past defectors, All India Congress Committee (AICC) Goa desk in-charge Manikrao Thaka re revealed. In an interview with Her ald TV ahead of the party’s ‘Goa Rakhan Yatra’, Thaka re indicated that alliance talks are already underway with the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and other parties. Thakare said Congress would continue its efforts to prevent the division of secular votes and would an nounce its alliance strategy in the coming days. He said the Congress was committed to explor ing a pre-poll alliance until the last possible moment.
He said the party’s objec tive was to bring together forces that share its com mitment to secularism and prevent the fragmentation of votes that, according to the Congress, could benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “We are trying to bring all secular forces together,” Thakare said, adding that the party’s doors remained open to potential allies. He indicated that talks with the ally GFP and others would continue and that the Congress would soon make its position clear. Reacting to repeated de fections by elected repre sentatives in Goa, Thakare adopted a firm position on leaders who have left the Congress after being elect ed on its ticket, saying the party would not welcome such defectors back. Thakare said Congress legislators had crossed over to other parties dur ing previous Assembly terms and that voters had not forgotten such moves.
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He argued that the peo ple of Goa would ultimately decide the political conse quences of defections. The AICC leader main tained that the party had taken a serious view of de fections and would keep its doors closed to those who had switched over to the BJP after winning elections on a Congress ticket. He also expressed con fidence that voters would take the issue into account when deciding their politi cal choices. Meanwhile, the Congress has stepped up its organ isational and public out reach activities in Goa with the launch of 27-day ‘Goa Rakhan Yatra’, or ‘Save Goa March’ starting from Sep tember 22 and will cover all 40 Assembly constitu encies in the State.
According to Thakare, the yatra will focus on connect ing directly with voters, understanding local problems and highlighting issues concerning the people of Goa. The campaign is also intended to strengthen the Congress or ganisation at the grassroots level ahead of the Assembly elections. Several senior national leaders are expected to partici pate in the Yatra at different stages. Leader of the Opposi tion in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi, Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior party leader Sachin Pilot are among those expected to take part, Thakare said. The yatra will provide the party with an opportunity to engage with voters in each constituency. Congress leaders will discuss local grievances, development-related con cerns and the political situation in Goa during the cam paign.
According to Thakare, the Congress sees the outreach programme as an important part of its preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections. With alliance talks still underway, the coming weeks are likely to be important for the Congress as it seeks to finalise its electoral strategy while si multaneously expanding its presence across all 40 constituencies through the Goa Rakhan Yatra.
