VITHALDAS HEGDE
vhegde3@heard-goa.com
PANJIM: While Goa Forward Party (GFP) has claimed in its comments to other media that it only had talks with political strategist Prashant Kishore and IPAC, which is strategising and planning the TMC campaign in Goa, it is learnt that the GFP was on the verge of finalising its future political relationship late last week.
It, however, suddenly decided to go cold and hobnob with the Congress, a party which had shunned GFP from the time the regional force had decided to help form the Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government in 2017.
GFP had convened its State executive meeting on Saturday to decide on its immediate political relationship but cancelled it at the last moment.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) Goa in-charge Dinesh Rao on Saturday rushed to Goa and left along with Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat, Congress working president Aleixo Sequeira and GFP president Vijai Sardesai to an unknown destination where they reportedly discussed a pre-poll alliance. Sardesai, however, told a local news portal that talks with Congress are suspended as of now.
However, their plans suffered a blow when GPCC president Girish Chodankar rushed to the national capital and vehemently opposed any pre-poll talks with the regional party.
When contacted, Chodankar denied that he had gone to Delhi and claimed that he had been to Mumbai in connection with the party work. “I have to often travel to Mumbai for party work,” he said.
In a statement to a section of the media, GFP president Sardesai said, “We have never spoken to TMC. We have had talks with Prashant Kishore. We were thinking of some kind of tie-up but right now we are going slow to gauge the sentiments of the people.”
