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Ex-TMC state chief accuses Kishor of using Goa polls to blackmail Congress
TMC contested 23 seats in alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party but failed to win a seat amid infighting
PANAJI: Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s former Goa chief Kiran Kandolkar has accused political strategist Prashant Kishor of using the party’s entry into the state’s electoral politics to blackmail the Congress leadership and causing a split in the vote that helped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to return to power last month.
“I believe Kishor came to Goa only to blackmail Congress president Sonia Gandhi. We have come to realise that he has used Goa as an example. He came to make a statement that If you do not take me into [the Congress], then I will [ensure] your vote share [goes down]. In Goa, he set that up as his main aim,” he said.
Kishor on Tuesday rejected an offer to join the Congress after he was asked to join the party’s Empowered Action Group for the 2024 polls following extended talks.
Kandolkar said the Opposition parties in Goa got divided and with 33% of the votes, the BJP is in power. “He [Kishor] came to prove...that if you think too little of me, then the way I have ensured your defeat in Goa, similarly at the national level, I will defeat you.”
Kandolkar was appointed TMC’s first state chief in the run-up to the Goa polls in February. He resigned on Wednesday accusing Kishor and the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), which the strategist founded, of turning their back on Goa and leaving TMC’s state unit with uncleared bills running into lakhs and no clear way forward.
Kandolkar said they were enticed to join TMC with tall promises and none of them materialised. He added he hoped to learn from the mistake. “When Kishor gave us political assurances that we will do this and we will do that for Goa, we were enticed... But as the election date came closer and with eight days left for the elections, PK [Kishor] and I-PAC turned their backs on Goa. Whatever plans they had turned out to be a total failure. He may be a big strategist at the national level, but in Goa, he has failed.”
He said Kishor may claim he is not associated with I-PAC, which oversaw TMC’s campaign in Goa, but if that is so why did he have 17-18 meetings with him. “Each candidate met Kishor. We cannot all be lying. Towards the end, he was claiming that he was not even in Goa and that he was here as a tourist. These lies have now come to haunt us along with the uncleared bills... Since I was the [state] president, people have been asking me to clear their bills. Why should we suffer for their deeds, which is why we are resigned.”
Kandolkar’s resignation is among a series of exits from TMC in Goa. His wife, Kavita, who was also a TMC candidate, quit this week.
Kandolkar said he has nothing against TMC leadership including West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. He blamed I-PAC for the party’s poor show. TMC contested 23 seats in alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party but failed to win a seat amid infighting.
TMC said it was in the process of reconstituting its state committee. “A newly-constituted ad hoc committee will be announced shortly. We take this opportunity to reiterate our solemn commitment towards working for the people of Goa and their well-being,” TMC said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from Kishor or I-PAC.
