Cong, NCP may not be allies for Goa polls, Pawar’s party looks for new partners

The Nationalist Congress Party may not ally with the Congress in the upcoming Assembly elections in Goa. The two parties fought the polls together in 2012.

The Nationalist Congress Party may not ally with the Congress in the upcoming Assembly elections in Goa. The two parties fought the polls together in 2012.

The NCP has started forming a political front with the help of local parties for the elections. Party leaders said they were keen on contesting the polls with the Congress, but with their old ally not responding properly, it now plans to make a front of small parties to contest the polls.

The 40-seat Goa Assembly is expected to go to the polls by February next year. The NCP, which was a partner in power in the Congress-led government before 2012, failed in the previous elections and wants to get back its lost space in the coastal state this time around.

“We are in talks with the United Goan Democratic Party (UGDP) led by Babush Monserrate, a legislator who was expelled from the Congress last year and Goa Forward headed by former state election commissioner Prabhkar Timble,” revealed a senior NCP leader.

Last time, the NCP contested six seats and is ready to accept the same seat-sharing formula, he said.

Nawab Malik, NCP spokesperson, also admitted the Congress was not giving the party the expected response for a coalition in the Goa polls.

“We are still interested in having an alliance with the Congress for these polls, as we don’t want a division of secular votes. But this feeling should be there from both sides when it comes to a pre-election tie-up,” Malik said.

The party is currently working to strengthen its organisational set-up in the coastal state by inducting well-known faces. Churchill Alemao, former MP from Navelim constituency has joined the party, among other known faces, he said.

Last week, the Shiv Sena announced a tie-up with the Goa Suraksha Manch, led by RSS dissident Subhash Velingkar’s outfit.