With the beginning of the new year, assembly elections in five states have also been announced. The most important and big states are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab, but Manipur, a northeastern state of the country and Goa, a state situated on the Arabian Sea coast in western India, is also preparing for this great festival of folk system. This time elections in seaside Goa are important in many ways, because after the death of former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, this election is no less than a test for the BJP.
Like every state, many local parties are present here and are ready to reach a do or die situation in the elections. One of these parties is the Goa Forward Party (GFP). Formed in the year 2015, the leadership of this party is in the hands of former Deputy Chief Minister of the state Vijay Sardesai, who became an independent MLA for the first time in the year 2012 and in 2017, that is, in his second term, giving his support, not only in the Parrikar cabinet. He made the place, but also took the post of Deputy Chief Minister.
In the midst of election fervor, we reached Goemkar Ghor on Monday, which is also the residence and office of the MLA of Fatorda. In an exclusive conversation with MoneyControl, Sardesai called for all local and big parties to fight the elections together and defeat the BJP, saying, “I believe there should be a ‘Team Goa’, which together defeats the BJP.”
Read the full series of questions and answers:
Question: Just after the announcement of the assembly dates, you questioned the election dates in Goa by tweeting that voting was held here during the peak of the third wave of Corona, why do you think so?
answer- The positivity rate in Goa, which was also mentioned by the Chief Election Commissioner, was 13% at that time, which is the highest among the five election states. We think we are in a position when the cases are doubling or increasing to three in a day. This means that every third person in Goa will be corona infected.
In such a situation, experts believe that this wave will be at its peak in the middle of February and we have elections on February 14 on Valentine’s Day, which the Election Commission has not kept because of our love. I think they have been misled by the government or they have not set their mind properly. Recently, municipal corporation elections were held, in which we saw that the voting was very less, so we think that the voting will be less in these elections as well.
Question- What do you think, if there is less voting, then one party gains its advantage and another one loses?
answer- It will totally go in favor of the ruling party because it has the infrastructure, it has the officials. Now one of their leaders came out with 2000 people in the rally and even if 10 people go with them, then we are caught. My only point is that if Manipur elections are being held on 3rd March, then our elections could also have been held on 3rd March.
Question- But the Election Commission said that vaccination has also been good in Goa?
answer- Nothing happens with that, I have already told you that those people who have taken booster dose are also getting infected.
Question- You had said that to defeat BJP, all parties should fight elections together, including local parties, you have made an alliance with Congress and you have also advocated to bring TMC together, but in this alliance of yours, common man Why is there no party name?
answer- The Aam Aadmi Party has said many things that we will not form any alliance before the elections. Their leader Arvind Kejriwal has come to Goa and said that an alliance can be considered after the elections, but not before the elections, it is his decision, so I did not add his name.
Question- TMC has been saying many times that Aam Aadmi Party is the B team of BJP and many regional parties also say the same, why so?
answer- Regional parties believe that our identity is more than regional issues and they know what and how these issues or situations are. All these parties that have come up now, which have brought the politics of banners and hoardings in Goa, all this was not there in Goa earlier. Making such promises in the manifesto which is not possible has never happened in Goa.
We have a feeling that they just want to make their gains by destroying the vote bank of regional parties, but it is very unlikely that the people of Goa, who are politically and socially active, will not allow these people to do so. .
We are not saying whose B team is, everyone has the right in democracy and politics to expand his party, but we have to say so to make people aware. Today’s situation is that people want change in Goa, because the government of ‘Bhrashtachari Janata Party’ should be sent home. People believe that this party is a bigger virus than Omicron. Surveys are also saying that people do not want BJP, but 60% votes are still not decided.
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