Vijai: Don’t know the contours of alliance with BJP in future

the goan I network

MARGAO

Saying he has no idea of the nature of the contours of the alliance  with the BJP in the future, Goa Forward party chief and TCP Minister  Vijai Sardesai on Thursday said that navigating a post-Parrikar  situation with a new BJP leadership will create new dynamics of its own,  which the government is facing at the moment.

He said that he and  the Goa Forward party are just beginning to learn the ropes with new set  of leaders and new set of do’s and don’ts in a post-Parrikar situation.  Without giving any indication how the regional party will grapple with  the post-Parrikar political situation, Sardesai, however, hastened to  add that the Goa Forward as a political party will have to go by what  the people want the leaders to do. 

“We cannot belittle our voters. I  want to remind that all the alliance partners had come together under  the leadership of Manohar Parrikar to form the coalition government and  navigating a post-Parrikar situation with a new BJP leadership will  create a new dynamics of its own, which the present government at the  moment is facing. We are just beginning to learn the ropes with new set  of leaders and new set of do’s and don’ts,” he told the media during  an informal chat on Thursday.

He said Goa Forward’s agenda is  unequivocally regionalist in nature, saying that the party’s agenda of  Goem, Goemkar and Goemkarponn is unequivocal and very central to the  political discourse.

“We had a post-poll alliance as we had stitched up  with Manohar Parrikar being the nucleus of the alliance. This alliance  was stitched with the singular objective of getting Parrikar from the  Defence Ministry to take over the reigns of Chief Minister,” he said,  adding ‘we do not know the contours of the alliance in the future’.

On  the ensuing Lok Sabha and by-elections, he said the Goa Forward is not  contesting the ensuing elections since the party is in alliance with  the BJP and given our status as members of the National Democratic  Alliance (NDA). “We are not contesting the ensuing elections. Both the  national parties exist in our constituencies and we are aware that we  have a role to play because we are elected representatives,” he said,  adding that the Goa Forward will support those parties which will take  cognizance of regionalist sentiments as part of its agenda to take Goa  Forward.

“It may so happen that these two national parties may not be up  to the mark to highlight the regionalist and local sentiments. And, we  are equally aware that these two parties having presence in our  constituencies can be beneficiaries of our support,” he said, while  saying that the Goa Forward party will be in the fray in the Assembly  elections.

Saying that the party’s support to any party will have an  impact on the future elections, which the party is willing to face,  Sardesai said the party’s singular goal is to ensure that Goa goes  forward and all long pending issues facing Goa are solved with due  support from the Centre.

...says don’t think Goa Forward has 

any role in Fatorda for LS polls

MARGAO:  In an interesting development, Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai on  Thursday said he does not think the Goa Forward has any role to play in  the ensuing Lok Sabha election in home constituency Fatorda, saying the  BJP has a presence in the constituency and the national party may not  need him to introduce the Lotus symbol to the electorate.

“I don’t  think I have any major role in Fatorda in the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP  has its presence in Fatorda and I think they don’t need me to introduce  the Lotus symbol. They have their presence and they have a sitting MP.  And, they have a government at the Centre, benefits seek to benefit  from the nationalistic sentiments at the moment,” he added.

Sardesai  pointed out that the Congress had fallen short of 400 votes to the BJP  in Fatorda Assembly segment at the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. He, however,  hastened to add that the Lok Sabha poll result had no impact in Fatorda  in the 2017 Assembly election as well as the Margao Municipal election,  which was swept by the Goa Forward. “One should remember that local  elections are fought on local issues and special and very localised  issues. As far as local issues are concerned, we are rooted to the  ground,” he said, adding that the Goa Forward is prepared to fight  elections for the Goa Legislative Assembly any time.