Fatorda MLA and Goa Forward Party (GFP) president Vijay Sardesai on Wednesday, December 2 returned to Goa late night along with his party MLA Vinoda Paliencar and Sanguem Independent MLA Prasad Goankar after finalising the pre-poll alliance with Congress ahead of Goa Assembly elections.
Speaking to the reporters at Dabolim airport, Vijai said the seat-sharing discussion will take place later. "The Goa Forward Party and the Congress have decided to form an alliance in the state, but the decision on allotment of seats will be taken later," Sardesai said.
He also expressed confidence that the alliance between the two parties would free Goa from the "corrupt BJP government."
He further said that more political parties would join the Goa Forward and Congress alliance in the state. “After the formation of the alliance, there will be many more people who will join. There are several people in touch with us,” he said.
Prasad Gaonkar said that Goa needs a change and more like-minded parties need to come together to form the next government in Goa.
On Tuesday, GFP MLAs Vijay Sardesai and Vinod Palyekar, and independent legislator Prasad Gaonkar, met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi and extended their support to Congress to defeat BJP in the Goa polls.
In the 2017 Goa Assembly polls, the Congress had won the highest 17 seats in the 40-member House restricting the BJP at 13. Interestingly, the GFP, led by Vijai Sardesai, had helped to prop up the BJP government led by Manohar Parrikar that came to power after the 2017 Goa polls despite the BJP winning fewer seats than Congress. The GFP has three MLAs in the House.
Sardesai had served as a deputy chief minister under incumbent chief minister Pramod Sawant of BJP.
