Panaji Mar 19 PTI Congress on Saturday issued a show-cause notice to its leader Vijai Bhike after his statement blaming the ally Goa Forward Party GFP for the poor performance in the last months Goa Assembly elections drew a sharp response from the latterBhikes comment was malicious and intended to jeopardize the healthy alliance the notice said seeking explanation from himThe BJP won 20 out of 40 seats in the Goa elections and is set to form government with the support of two MGP MLAs and three Independents Congress was a distant second winning only 11 seats six less than the last time while GFP won only one a loss of two seats compared to 2017Bhike chief of the North Goa district Congress unit said on Friday that joining hands with the GFP was a mistakeI think we made the wrong decision by tying up with the Goa Forward Party as the alliance did not benefit Congress in any way but the other party took advantage of it he told reporters at SaligaoGFP chief Vijai Sardesai failed to win Mayem and Mandrem seats for his candidates Bhike claimed adding that the GFPs vote share fell to 18 per cent from 35 per cent in 2017 On Saturday GFPs Santosh Kumar Sawant candidate from Mayem and Deepak Kalangutkar candidate from Mandrem slammed BhikeOne should recall that GFP president Vijai Sardesai had given a call for forming Team Goa alliance against the BJP in 2020 But Congress leaders didnt act on it until Sardesai met Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi and the alliance was forged for the 2022 polls Kalangutkar saidEven after Sardesai met Rahul Gandhi local Congress leaders kept on saying that the alliance is yet to be announced which created doubts about the tie-up they addedWe condemn Bhikes statement I doubt if Bhike is making such a statement after consulting his senior party leaders or if he is being dictated by someone else Kalangutkar saidSawant said division of votes helped the BJPIf the alliance had been forged one-and-a-half years ago results would have been different he saidLater in the day senior vice president of the Goa Congress M K Sheikh following directions of the partys Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao issued a show-cause notice to Bhike asking him to explain his statement within three days or face disciplinary actionBhike made derogatory remarks against the alliance partner Goa Forward Party and its leader Vijai Sardesai without taking the party into confidence and without authorization of the party and contrary to the stand of the Indian National Congress said the noticeSuch statements not only damage the standing of the Indian National Congress but also raise doubts about the genuineness of the alliance which continues to be in existence even as of date Sheikh said in the noticeSuch reckless statements are not only malicious but they are also intended to jeopardise the healthy alliance the notice further said The BJP though comfortably placed to stake a claim to form government has yet to do so On Friday Congress had said it was ready to consider all possible alternatives to keep the saffron party away from power in Goa PTI RPS NSK KRK KRK

Panaji (Goa) [India], February 5 (ANI): Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday took potshots at the Congress-Goa Forward Party (GFP) candidates for taking loyalty pledge. Sawant said that the Congress-GFP candidates will need to prove their loyalty time and again.

New Delhi Jan 30 PTI Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday said an alliance could not be forged between his party and the NCP-Shiv Sena for the Goa Assembly polls despite best efforts but asserted that they will remain friends and after the elections the Congress would continue to explore opportunities to work together with themChidambaram who is the Congress senior election observer for the Goa Assembly polls also hit out at the TMC for its barbs at the Congress for not forging an alliance with it saying the party continued to poach Congress leaders despite making an offer of a tie-upThe senior Congress leader said he received no instructions from the party leadership to hold talks with the Trinamool Congress TMC and added that I am sure our leadership had taken into account all the facts and circumstances In an interview with PTI Chidambaram said that among all the States and UTs Goa registered the lowest in real GDP growth in 2019-20 the year for which data has been published by the RBI and asserted that Goans deserve better He also said that whether the Congress would announce a chief ministerial name before or after the elections would be decided after consulting all the candidates and the party would go by the consensus among themHe also asserted that the contest in the Goa polls is between the Congress plus Goa Forward Party and the BJP and we will be able to win a simple majority Asked why the Congress was not able to tie up with other Opposition parties especially the Nationalist Congress Party NCP and the Shiv Sena Chidambaram said the NCP and Shiv Sena are the Congress allies in Maharashtra and it would have liked them to be allies in Goa as well We tried They made certain proposals We made certain proposals Unfortunately there was no meeting point I acknowledge that both sides had compulsions and despite our best efforts we could not find a meeting point Chidambaram said Nevertheless we are friends and will remain friends After the elections we will continue to explore opportunities to work together with NCP and Shiv Sena he saidAfter the 2019 Assembly elections in Maharashtra the Shiv Sena which till then allied with the BJP joined hands with the NCP and the Congress to form a government which was given the name Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA The Shiv Sena and the NCP had earlier this month announced that they would contest the Goa elections togetherAsked about the TMCs barbs at the Congress over not forging a tie-up with it Chidambaram said he is not able to understand the TMCs positionThey entered Goa a few months ago and my distinguished friend Mamata ji declared in Goa that TMC had formed an alliance and any other party was welcome to join their alliance The General Secretary of TMC declared that TMC will contest all 40 seats Then they lured Mr Luizinho Faleiro Congress MLA to the TMC Chidambaram saidThe Congress announced its first list of candidates on December 16 including the name of Reginald Laurenco sitting MLA and four days later on December 20 Laurenco was admitted to the TMC he said detailing the sequence of eventsOn December 24 TMCs Vice President met me and suggested that the two parties should work together in Goa I agreed to convey the suggestion to our leadership and I promptly did he saidHowever the TMC continued to poach our leaders sarpanches panches etc for example in Vasco and Marmugao he saidI received no instructions from our leadership to hold talks with TMC I am sure our leadership had taken into account all the facts and circumstances As far as I was concerned the matter rested there Chidambaram saidOn the Congress MLAs switching to BJP in the current assembly and what measures the party was taking to prevent a repeat the Congress Goa polls in-charge said loyalty is the top priority for the partyThe most important measure which has been implemented in 30 constituencies is that candidates recommended by the Block have been selected to contest the elections he saidBlocks were asked to place loyalty as the top criterion Next the candidates spontaneously offered to take a pledge before a Temple a Church and a Dargah I think such a pledge has removed any lingering doubt about the loyalty of our candidates to the Congress Party and to the voters who will vote them to office Chidambaram saidAhead of the elections candidates of the Congress which was hit hardest by defections in the BJP-ruled state in the last five years have taken an anti-defection pledge before a temple church and dargahAsked if the party would announce a CM face before polls Chidambaram pointed out that he has stated that whether we should announce a CM name before or after the elections will be decided after consulting all the candidatesWe intend to do that We will go by the consensus among the candidates he saidOn whether the Congress would be open to a post poll alliance he said the contest was between the Congress GFP and the BJP and exuded confidence that his partys alliance will be able to win a simple majorityHe said post elections if other parties are willing to support a Congress-led government the Congress would take a call depending on the circumstancesChidambaram said the feedback from the ground is positive and expressed confidence that the Congress alliance would do well as the anti-BJP sentiment is gathering pace everyday After suffering BJPs misrule for 10 years the people of Goa want a non-BJP government he saidAmong all the states and UTs Goa registered the lowest in real GDP growth in 2019-20 the year for which data has been published by the RBI Goa and Goans deserve better he saidChidambaram expressed confidence that the people of Goa will vote the Congress and its ally GFP to form the next governmentAssembly polls for all 40 seats in Goa will be held on February 14 PTI ASK BJ ANB ANB

New Delhi Jan 30 PTI Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday said an alliance could not be forged between his party and the NCP-Shiv Sena for the Goa Assembly polls despite best efforts but asserted that they will remain friends and after the elections the Congress would continue to explore opportunities to work together with themChidambaram who is the Congress senior election observer for the Goa Assembly polls also hit out at the TMC for its barbs at the Congress for not forging an alliance with it saying the party continued to poach Congress leaders despite making an offer of a tie-upThe senior Congress leader said he received no instructions from the party leadership to hold talks with the Trinamool Congress TMC and added that I am sure our leadership had taken into account all the facts and circumstancesIn an interview with PTI Chidambaram said whether the party would announce a chief ministerial name before or after the elections would be decided after consulting all the candidates and the party would go by the consensus among themHe also asserted that the contest in the Goa polls is between the Congress plus Goa Forward Party and the BJP and we will be able to win a simple majorityAsked why the Congress was not able to tie up with other Opposition parties especially the Nationalist Congress Party NCP and the Shiv Sena Chidambaram said the NCP and Shiv Sena are the Congress allies in Maharashtra and it would have liked them to be allies in Goa as well We triedThey made certain proposalsWe made certain proposals Unfortunately there was no meeting pointI acknowledge that both sides had compulsions and despite our best efforts we could not find a meeting point Chidambaram saidNevertheless we are friends and will remain friends After the elections we will continue to explore opportunities to work together with NCP and Shiv Sena he saidAfter the 2019 Assembly elections in Maharashtra the Shiv Sena which till then allied with the BJP joined hands with the NCP and the Congress to form a government which was given the name Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA The Shiv Sena and the NCP had earlier this month announced that they would contest the Goa elections togetherAsked about the TMCs barbs at the Congress over not forging a tie-up with it Chidambaram said he is not able to understand the TMCs position They entered Goa a few months ago and my distinguished friend Mamata ji declared in Goa that TMC had formed an alliance and any other party was welcome to join their alliance The General Secretary of TMC declared that TMC will contest all 40 seats Then they lured Mr Luizinho Faleiro Congress MLA to the TMC Chidambaram saidThe Congress announced its first list of candidates on December 16 including the name of Reginald Laurenco sitting MLA and four days later on December 20 Laurenco was admitted to the TMC he said detailing the sequence of eventsOn December 24 TMCs Vice President met me and suggested that the two parties should work together in Goa I agreed to convey the suggestion to our leadership and I promptly did he saidHowever the TMC continued to poach our leaders sarpanches panches etc for example in Vasco and Marmugao he saidI received no instructions from our leadership to hold talks with TMC I am sure our leadership had taken into account all the facts and circumstances As far as I was concerned the matter rested there Chidambaram saidOn the Congress MLAs switching to BJP in the current assembly and what measures the party was taking to prevent a repeat the Congress Goa polls in-charge said loyalty is the top priority for the party The most important measure which has been implemented in 30 constituencies is that candidates recommended by the Block have been selected to contest the elections he said Blocks were asked to place loyalty as the top criterion Next the candidates spontaneously offered to take a pledge before a Temple a Church and a Dargah I think such a pledge has removed any lingering doubt about the loyalty of our candidates to the Congress Party and to the voters who will vote them to office Chidambaram saidAhead of the elections the candidates of the Congress which was hit hardest by defections in the BJP-ruled state in the last five years have taken an anti-defection pledge before a temple church as well as a dargahAsked if the party would announce a CM face before polls Chidambaram pointed out that he has stated that whether we should announce a CM name before or after the elections will be decided after consulting all the candidates We intend to do that We will go by the consensus among the candidates he saidOn whether the Congress would be open to a post poll alliance Chidambaram said the contest was between the Congress GFP and the BJP and exuded confidence that his partys alliance will be able to win a simple majority He said that post elections if other parties are willing to support a Congress-led government the Congress would take a call depending on the circumstances Chidambaram said the feedback from the ground is positive and expressed confidence that the Congress alliance would do well as the anti-BJP sentiment is gathering pace everyday After suffering BJPs misrule for 10 years the people of Goa want a non-BJP government he saidAssembly polls for all 40 seats in Goa will be held on February 14In the 2017 Goa Assembly elections the Congress had won 17 seats in the House and emerged as the single largest party But the BJP which had bagged 13 seats quickly tied-up with some regional parties and independents to form the government in the state PTI ASK BJ DV DV

Panaji Jan 23 PTI Ahead of the next months Goa Assembly elections the Congress which was hit hardest by defections in the BJP-ruled state in the last five years made its candidates swear before God that they will not switch the party if they get elected The Congress on Saturday took all its 34 candidates in a special bus to a temple a church as well as a dargah in the state and made them take the anti-defection pledge Since the last election the Congress has seen most of its legislators quitting the party The grand old party which had emerged as the single largest force by winning 17 seats in the 40-member House after the 2017 Assembly elections now has only two MLAs in the House In 2019 ten Congress legislators had joined the ruling BJP whose current strength in the Assembly stands at 27 In order to build trust in the minds of people the exercise of getting candidates swear before the God was undertaken Goa Pradesh Congress committee GPCC president Girish Chodankar said The candidates were taken to the Mahalaxmi temple in Panaji a church at Bambolim and at a dargah in Betim village near the capital city Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram who is partys Goa election observer accompanied the candidates to these religious places But the Congress is not the first party in the state to undertake this kind of exercise On January 31 last year the Goa Forward Party GFP had taken its all three MLAs and office-bearers to Dev Bodgeshwar temple at Mapusa and made them take a pledge that they will not support the BJP in the 2022 state elections The GFP had extended its support to the Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government in 2017 The GFP MLAs were made ministers at that time However after the 10 Congress MLAs joined the BJP in 2019 the GFP ministers were dropped from the cabinet by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who took over the states reins following the death of Parrikar The Vijai Sardesai-led GFP had to face a backlash for supporting the BJP to form the governmentHowever despite taking the oath at the Mapusa temple one GFP legislator Jayesh Salgaonkar later shifted to the ruling BJP He is currently the BJPs candidate from Saligao Assembly constituency Recently the Aam Aadmi Party AAP which is also contesting the Goa Assembly elections had announced that its candidates will have to sign legal affidavits mentioning that they will not quit the party to join another one if they get elected The Arvind Kejriwal-led party took the decision to stem defections as it feels that the coastal state is notorious for politicians jumping to other parties an AAP leader had said As per a report by the Association of Democratic Reforms ADR as many as 24 legislators in Goa which is 60 per cent of the total strength of the state Assembly have switched parties in the last five years The organisation said in its report that with these defections Goa has set a unique record which is unparalleled in the history of Indian democracy In the five year tenure of the current Assembly 2017-2022 as many as 24 MLAs have changed their parties which is 60 per cent of the total strength of the House It has never happened anywhere else in India It is a clear reflection of utter disrespect to the mandate of voters A callous approach to ethics and discipline overborne by uncontrolled greed at its worst the report said Goa is going to polls on February 14 The electoral battle in the state has become multi-cornered with the entry of the Trinamool Congress TMC and the AAP So far poll tie-ups have been forged between the regional MGP and the TMC and between the Congress and the GFP The Shiv Sena and the NCP are also contesting the elections together In the 2017 polls despite winning 17 seats the Congress could not come to power as the BJP which had bagged 13 seats allied with some independents and regional parties to form the government PTI RPS NP NP

Panaji (Goa) [India], December 3 (ANI): Ahead of assembly polls in the state, Goa Forward Party (GFP) MLA from Saligao, Jayesh Salgaonkar joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday in the presence of Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.