PANJIM: Expressing willingness to form a grand alliance with the Congress Party in the 2017 Assembly polls, the newly registered Goa Forward party said it will declared its first list of 20 candidates for the polls by the end of September.
Candidates for the remaining 20 constituencies will be finalized by November end after discussions with political parties and leaders having a similar agenda to wipe out the BJP-MGP government.
Addressing media persons, Goa Forward president Prabhakar Timble said the party is looking at the 2017 elections to provide a viable alternative government and hence is taking slow and cautious decisions.
“The first 20 candidates will be announced by end of September to first week of October. The balance will be finalized with focused discussions with politicians and political parties having similar agenda, by November end,” Timble said.
“We want to come to power and don’t want to be another opposition with few members. We are not here to get certain percentage of votes as per Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines but are here to form the government,” he said.
Timble said that party is open to an alliance with parties like Congress, that have a similar agenda. “We have to have an alliance with Congress,” he said.
He ruled out all possibilities of having alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) saying, “There is no party in the world as honest as AAP and hence we might not be fit for each other.”
The party said its main agenda would be focus on development of every Goan.
“As Goa approaches the 2017 elections, the top most priority of Goa Forward is to sensitize Goans on the threats to Goa, Goans and Goemkarponn (Goan identity),” Timble said
The party has assured to provide staple food items like fish, pao (bread) and coconut at subsidized prices and will work out rational and viable schemes in consultation with stakeholders.
