Team Herald

PANJIM: Goa Forward Party (GFP) President and Minister Vijai Sardesai on Friday said his party is not keen on contesting the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

“We are not keen on fighting the national level elections as our main scope and focus is Goa and not Delhi. We are a part of the NDA and in an alliance with the BJP,” Sardesai said responding to a question from the media.

“We at GFP will not sit with three seats in the next elections, we are forward and not backward. We have formed the government for the next five years as Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has already said. We are directly looking at 2022 elections,” he said.

He added that GFP will start its membership drive from November 1. “We will start our membership drive from November 1 and finish it on January 16 which happens to be the Opinion Poll day. GFP will also address a public meeting on that day. We will shortly start putting our foot in other constituencies but without disturbing the constituencies whose representatives are part of the coalition government. People who are joining us is our army,” Sardesai added

In a boost to GFP, Panchwadi Sapanch Vishant Goankar and supporting Panch members joined GFP as a part of the member drive.

“I welcome them to the party and I assure them that injustice will not be done to the people. In their village, we will not let anything happen to them and dampen whatever hopes they have,” Sardesai said.

Goankar after joining the party said he was happy to be a part of the movement. “I was part of the Congress for many years but there was no value in the party and there was injustice done to the people and at that point I thought that something should happen so that I can serve better the people. As GFP announced its manifesto I openly supported them and declared that I would be fighting panchayat elections with the GFP and my people supported me,” Gaonkar said.