Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday announced that his party would contest the 2027 assembly elections in Goa in an alliance with Vijai Sardesai-led Goa Forward Party (GFP) and oust the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power.
Kejriwal named the alliance as 'Goa First'.
Speaking at a press conference, Delhi's former chief minister alleged there is a collusion between the BJP and the Congress under which the latter is helping the former retain power in the state despite public's mandate being against it.
He alleged that people's mandate was against the BJP in the 2017 elections and they had voted for the Congress; however, the grand old party sent its MLAs to the saffron party, helping it form the government. Even in 2022, the Congress provided the numbers to BJP to retain power, he claimed.
"People were betrayed twice. However, they are not in a mood to be betrayed again. People want options. On one side, they have Congress... The Congress has always helped the BJP. They attack each other in public, but there is a collusion between them. BJP's unit has many people who came from Congress. All of them are corrupt," he said.
"The BJP knows that they would lose in 2027, but they are confident that the Congress will help them retain power. However, people want to change this. Until now, people never really had an option. However, they now have a formidable option as 'Goa First'. Those who want to defeat the BJP and the Congress can vote for us," he added.
Sardesai, meanwhile, said the 'Goa First' alliance is an alternative for the people of Goa. Attacking the BJP, he said the saffron party does not have a clear mandate but they have bulldozed legislations in the assembly after several of Congress MLAs defected to it.
"People of Goa have been cheated. The Congress voters have been cheated because they voted for the Congress, but they received a BJP MLA. So, by and large, the loyal Congress and BJP voters have been cheated. We don't want them, the Goans, for the cheated by the third time," Sardesai said at the media briefing.
Assembly elections are due in Goa in February or March next year.
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