Panaji: The upcoming Assembly Elections in Goa may have a West Bengal touch, with Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress potentially making another appearance in the coastal state.
It has been confirmed by several opposition politicians that the Trinamool Congress has approached them about the possibility of running for the state Assembly elections scheduled to be held in early 2022 on its ticket, reported news agency IANS. Despite this, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant seemed not perturbed by yet another political party possibly rejoining Goa’s electoral fray.
When asked about reports that the Trinamool Congress might contest the Goa election, Sawant replied, “Let everyone come, everyone loves Goa”.
Former two-term Congress MLA Agnelo Fernandes was one of those contacted by the Trinamool Congress about joining the party based in West Bengal.
“I was sent feelers to join the party, but I have been with the Congress through thick and thin. I refused to participate in such a conversation,” said Fernandes.
MLA Luizinho Faleiro, who has also been mentioned in the media as a potential Trinamool Congress joinee, said: “A lot of people are doing surveys. They are meeting all the leaders.”.
Now that the Trinamool is considering going to Goa, it will be the second time the party is seeking to establish its political presence in the state. Former chief minister Dr Wilfred de Souza was appointed to head the party’s affairs in 2012, but the party failed to make significant progress in the Assembly Elections held subsequently. In 2014, Churchill Alemao, the former chief minister, had also joined the party.
The reports come as a faction of I-PAC, a political lobbying agency headed by political strategist Prashant Kishor, is evaluating the political environment in Goa, which might be a setting for the Trinamool Congress to enter the elections.
Members of the team have met politicians, journalists, social activists, businessmen, and a cross-section of state residents.