Goa elections: TMC slams 'misleading' Chidambaram over alliance proposal with Congress

Ahead of the Goa elections, a fresh face-off has emerged between Congress and Trinamool Congress on Thursday. TMC national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee has attacked senior Congress leader P Chidambaram over his 'no alliance proposal' claim and called it 'misleading'. 

TMC slams Congress over 'no alliance' claim

"He (Chidambaram) said that TMC never made a concrete offer for an alliance with Congress in Goa. Pawan Verma, the national vice-president of TMC, put it out in public domain that he went to P. Chidambaram's Lodhi house, and requested him that parties should come together by keeping aside their egos for the people," Abhishek Banerjee said, challenging Chidambaram to come out an accept if Congress fails to defeat the BJP in the assembly elections scheduled to take place on February 14.

"Why should the INC say no if another party wishes to support the Congress?"Chidambaram had said, a day after TMC had hinted at a possible alliance with opposition parties in Goa to defeat the BJP. 

It is pertinent to mention here that it is not just the TMC whose proposal for an alliance has been put down by Congress. Earlier, Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party had said that Congress had given them a cold shoulder on talks of an alliance in the coastal state.

Goa Polls

The polls to elect members to the 40-member House will be conducted in a single phase on 14 February, while the counting of votes will take place on 10 March. 

With less than a month to go for the elections, the Republic-P Marq Opinion Poll has predicted that the BJP may emerge victorious by a close margin while the Congress may end up emerging as the main opposition party in Goa. The latest pre-poll survey conducted by Republic-P Marq has projected 16-20 seats for the BJP while the Congress may end up winning 9-13 seats. For the AAP, Republic-P Marq has projected 4-8 seats while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is predicted to secure 1-5 seats.