Atishi confirms party will fight all elections in the State alone
AAP national leader Atishi Marlena inaugurates the party's South Goa district office at Navelim on Monday.
Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
In a development that has dealt a big blow to Opposition unity in Goa and threatens to cut off ties with the main Opposition party, Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday announced plans to go solo in the elections for the upcoming Zilla Panchayat polls in November this year, municipal polls in 2026, and the 2027 polls for the Goa Legislative Assembly.
AAP national leader Atishi Marlena said the Congress cannot be trusted since MLAs winning on the party symbol have been defecting time and again to the BJP after the polls.
Inaugurating the party’s South Goa district office at Navelim on Monday, Atishi, point-blank, asserted that there will be no alliance with the Congress party in Goa, adding that the party will be fighting the zilla panchayat, municipal, and Goa Legislative Assembly elections on its own.
When the media asked her to cite the reason behind the party’s decision to go solo in Goa in the coming polls, Atishi, in clear terms, said "it is very clear that the Congress cannot be trusted", with party MLAs defecting to the BJP after elections.
When further asked whether AAP will reconsider a tie-up with the Congress in Goa given that two more years remain until the 2027 election, Atishi smiled, saying, “As of now, the Aam Aadmi Party has decided to contest all three elections on our own.”
When the media drew her attention to the statement made by AAP Goa Chief Amit Palekar post-Delhi Assembly polls that an alliance with the Congress is the only way forward, Atishi said, “It is very clear the Congress cannot be trusted. In 2022, the Congress won 11 seats, out of which eight MLAs have gone to the BJP. This is not the first time that Congress MLAs have defected to the BJP. Earlier, 80 per cent of the Congress MLAs had defected to the BJP,” she asserted.
Thanking the people of Goa for reposing their trust in AAP by electing Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva from Benaulim and Velim constituencies, Atishi recalled that political pundits had predicted that the two AAP MLAs would defect to the BJP within months.
“But our MLAs have shown they are not after power and money; they are working for the people. In 2022, eight Congress MLAs defected to the BJP. Again and again, Congress MLAs have betrayed the trust of the people. Both our MLAs are still aligned with the party and are working for the people,” she said.
Exuding confidence that the people of Goa will stand by AAP in the coming elections, Atishi said AAP’s presence and performance will help the party garner more seats in the ensuing polls.
Later, while addressing AAP volunteers, Atishi urged the party rank and file to prepare for the 2027 Assembly election, expressing confidence that the people of Goa will give the party the mandate by increasing the tally of seats tenfold.
AAP Goa Chief Amit Palekar, party MLAs Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva, besides party leaders including Benaulim ZP member Joseph Pimenta, Valmiki Naik, Gerson Gomes, Roque Mascarenhas, and Prashant Naik, were present for the office inauguration function.
