Apple Inc
AAPL
$142.99
(-0.9%)
Alphabet Inc - Class C
GOOG
$99.01
(-0.86%)
Alphabet Inc - Class A
GOOGL
$97.97
(-0.88%)
Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN
$101.95
(-1.17%)
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT
$246.97
(-0.34%)
Meta Platforms Inc - Class A
FB
$196.64
(+0.51%)
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. - Class B
BRK.B
$310.25
(-0.41%)
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - ADR
BABA
$111.08
(+0.8%)
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPM
$140.24
(+0.2%)
Johnson & Johnson
JNJ
$164.26
(+0.51%)
Bank Of America Corp.
BAC
$35.91
(+1.2%)
Exxon Mobil Corp.
XOM
$115.43
(-0.5%)
Wells Fargo & Co.
WFC
$47.26
(+0.82%)
Visa Inc - Class A
V
$228.74
(-0.64%)
Walmart Inc
WMT
$143.81
(-0.04%)
Shell Plc - ADR
RDS.B
$51.06
(0%)
Shell Plc - ADR (Representing Ordinary Shares - Class A)
RDS.A
$51.04
(0%)
Intel Corp.
INTC
$28.35
(+0.3%)
AT&T, Inc.
T
$20.37
(0%)
Unitedhealth Group Inc
UNH
$499.26
(+0.01%)
Cisco Systems, Inc.
CSCO
$48.10
(-1.17%)
PetroChina Co. Ltd. - ADR
PTR
$43.88
(0%)
Novartis AG - ADR
NVS
$87.68
(-3.24%)
Pfizer Inc.
PFE
$43.75
(-0.94%)
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing - ADR
TSM
$93.19
(+0.5%)
No Result
View All Result
The Voice of All
  • Login
  • Home
  • Trend
  • News
    • United Stated
    • Asia
      • Japan
      • Pakistan
      • China
      • India
      • Singapore
    • Europe
      • France
      • Germany
      • Spain
      • United Kingdom
    • Canada
    • Middle East
    • Africa
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Culture
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Videos
  • Travel
  • Blogs
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Trend
  • News
    • United Stated
    • Asia
      • Japan
      • Pakistan
      • China
      • India
      • Singapore
    • Europe
      • France
      • Germany
      • Spain
      • United Kingdom
    • Canada
    • Middle East
    • Africa
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Culture
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Sports
  • Tech
  • Videos
  • Travel
  • Blogs
Subscribe
The Voice of All
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia India

Newsmaker: Alliance with Goa Congress was unenthusiastic; Oppn unity cannot just be a hashtag, says Vijai Sardesai

March 30, 2022
in India
0 0
A A
0
VIEWS
FacebookTwitterLinkedIn

Goa Forward Party (GFP) president Vijai Sardesai was perhaps the first to advocate Opposition unity in Goa. He had said, much ahead of the legislative Assembly election, that Opposition parties need to come together as ‘Team Goa’ to take on the BJP in the 2022 Assembly polls. But after the election that he contested as an ally of the Congress, Sardesai is a disillusioned man, who feels that Opposition unity cannot just be a “hashtag” and the Goa Congress’s alliance with his party was “unenthusiastic” and “half-hearted”.

“I am completely disenchanted. Team Goa cannot just be a mirage, it cannot be just a hashtag. It has to be followed up with a lot of action on the ground. There should be sincerity that I feel is lacking at the moment,” Sardesai told The Indian Express on Tuesday.

Now the lone GFP MLA, Sardesai’s party strength in the 40-member House has reduced to one from three in 2017, while the BJP has returned stronger with 20 of its own MLAs and support from five others.

🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️

After its defeat in the recently concluded legislative Assembly election, Congress leaders said the split in Opposition votes had worked to the BJP’s advantage.

In an Opposition space crowded with the Congress, regional parties, AAP and TMC, Sardesai had called for Opposition unity despite the TMC attacking him ahead of the polls and the Congress handing him a raw deal with just three seats for his party to contest.

“Any effort towards unity cannot be half-hearted. It has to be with all your effort to unite people. The Congress’s alliance with us was half-hearted and unenthusiastic. Certainly, a proposed alliance with other parties was something they didn’t even want to think of. Even after being a victim of the TMC’s poaching game, I stood for Opposition unity, including taking the TMC on board…but these guys (Congress) got overconfident and started distributing the spoils of power even before reaching the destination. It was all childish. Unfortunately, the people of the state have to suffer. We, as the Opposition, have failed the people of the state,” Sardesai said.

The tension between Sardesai and former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar was common knowledge in Goa’s political circles. Chodankar was missing from the photograph that Sardesai shared of him holding hands with Rahul Gandhi when they announced their alliance in December 2021.

Placing the blame squarely on the Goa unit of the Congress, he said, “I, as an alliance partner was not even used anywhere. I am not cribbing about not being used but the fact is collectively our strength should have been well channeled to reach the goal. It did not happen because of the selfish reasons of the state Congress leadership… I wanted to contest more seats but I was not given the seats where I could have won… This was all done in a way that it looked like the state Congress leadership was more interested in cutting me down to size than on winning the election.” He is categorical that his criticism is directed at the state unit of the Congress. “I have no complaints against the national Congress leadership other than the fact that they over-invested in individuals but it is the state Congress leaders who are to blame.”

Sardesai, a three-time MLA, began his political career with the Youth Congress, before being elected as an Independent MLA in 2012 and forming the GFP in 2016. In 2017, after his party supported the BJP to form the government, Sardesai served as a minister in the government led by former Goa CM Manohar Parrikar and later as deputy chief minister after Parrikar’s death in March 2019, when he supported the Pramod Sawant-led government.

Months later, when the BJP got a majority in the House in July 2019 following the defection of 12 MLAs from the Congress and the MGP, Sardesai and two other GFP MLAs were dropped from the government. Over the last three years, his has been among the harshest voices of opposition in the state.

Ahead of the election, the TMC got GFP working president Kiran Kandolkar to cross over to its side – he is now Goa TMC president – and also gave an election ticket to a ‘winnable’ candidate from the GFP after the Congress denied the St Andre seat to Sardesai’s party. The TMC has often targeted Sardesai for allying with the BJP in 2017, calling him the “betrayer in chief”.

“Our turbulent relationship with the TMC began when they offered me the leadership of TMC (in Goa). When I refused, they attacked me… But I don’t think it has had much effect…TMC took Goans for granted. They did not understand the situation on the ground and they made a big mistake, lost a lot of money and support which was earlier enthusiastically coming to them,” said Sardesai.

His evident disappointment with the Congress post-elections has led to speculation that Sardesai may shift his loyalties. While Sardesai has said he is going nowhere, when asked if he would remain in the Opposition for the next five years, he said, “It is too early to comment on any of this”. Pointing out that he has spent eight of his decade-long political journey in the Opposition, he added, “I am not scared of being in the Opposition”.



Source: india Express

Tags: Goa Forward PartyGoa newsGPFGPF alliance with CongressIndian expressVijai Sardesai
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

India

Kerala CM seeks Modi’s help to free Indian sailors held hostage in Equatorial Guinea

India

Watch | PM Modi visits BJP veteran L K Advani on his 95th birthday

India

EC announces bypoll in UP’s Khatauli Assembly seat on Dec 5, counting on Dec 8

India

Watch | ‘Drink alcohol, chew tobacco, but..’: BJP MP Janardan Mishra at water conservation event

India

In Parliament, most parties favoured EWS quota Bill amid concerns; DMK, RJD, AIMIM opposed it

India

MHA annual report underlines need to update National Population Register across country

India

CBI arrests ASI, CRPF constable and two others in J&K sub-inspector recruitment scam case

India

J&K reported 73 infiltration bids in 2021, lowest in 5 years

India

India’s G20 presidency: PM to unveil theme, logo, website today

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending

    Latest News

    Here’s how ranked-choice voting works.

    Here’s how ranked-choice voting works.

    Jovan Adepo and Thundercat on Jazz, Superheroes and Ego Death

    You’ve Planned the Holiday Menu. Now Where Will You Put All the Guests?

    The Return of the Jaguar

    The Voice of All

    The Voice of All is an online newspaper for cosmopolitans, global entrepreneurs, management staff, influencers, and other modern leaders and everyday people who care about wider aspects and broader opinions.

    Sections

    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Business
    • Canada
    • China
    • Culture
    • Economy
    • Europe
    • France
    • Germany
    • Health
    • India
    • Japan
    • Lifestyle
    • Middle East
    • Pakistan
    • Politics
    • Singapore
    • Spain
    • Sports
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • United Kingdom
    • United Stated
    • Videos

    THE MOST IMPORTANT FINANCE NEWS AND EVENTS OF THE DAY

    Subscribe to our mailing list to receives daily updates direct to your inbox!

    • About
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms
    • Contact

    © 2022 All Rights Reserved - The Voice of All

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • Trend
    • News
      • United Stated
      • Asia
        • Japan
        • Pakistan
        • China
        • India
        • Singapore
      • Europe
        • France
        • Germany
        • Spain
        • United Kingdom
      • Canada
      • Middle East
      • Africa
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Tech
    • Videos
    • Travel
    • Blogs

    © 2022 All Rights Reserved - The Voice of All

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password?

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In
    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.