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Updated December 17th, 2021 at 08:52 IST

Goa polls: BJP sees 1st exit in current Assembly tenure as MLA Alina Saldanha joins AAP

AAP's campaign for Goa polls received a huge fillip on Thursday as ex-BJP leader Alina Saldanha joined the party in the presence of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

Reported by: Akhil Oka
Alina Saldanha, Goa
Image: Twitter | Image:self
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AAP's campaign for Goa polls received a huge fillip on Thursday as ex-BJP leader Alina Saldanha joined the party in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Saldanha, a sitting BJP MLA from Cortalim, had resigned from the saffron party as well as the Goa Assembly earlier in the day. She had entered electoral politics by winning a by-election after her husband and former Minister Mathany Saldanha's demise in 2012 and also retained the seat in the 2017 election. 

Speaking to the media on her decision to quit BJP, Alina Saldanha said, "I resigned because the party that late Mathany Saldanha had joined, and after his demise, I stepped into his shoes, is no longer the same. It seems to have forgotten all its principles and there's bedlam in the state". Meanwhile, BJP's Goa unit stated that it had expelled her for "making comments against the party" and "participating in agitations against the ruling government". 

After inducting Saldanha into the party, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal remarked, "I am happy to welcome Alina Saldanha, sitting BJP MLA from Cortalim to Aam Aadmi Party. Together, we will take forward the legacy of Late Shri Matanhy Saldanha and steer Goa to a path of prosperity and corruption-free governance". Saldanha who became the first sitting BJP MLA to quit the party in the current Assembly tenure had reportedly participated in a meeting on Wednesday to finalise the plans for PM Modi's visit to Goa on Sunday. So far, AAP is yet to declare its CM candidate for the Goa polls.

Here are AAP's promises for Goa polls: 

  • Every family will receive 300 units of free electricity per month. Once this announcement is adopted, 87% of Goa will start getting zero electricity bills
  • All old/pending bills will be waived off
  • 24/7 uninterrupted power supply
  • Free electricity for farmers
  • Goa's youth can get government jobs in a transparent manner
  • One unemployment youth in every family will get a job
  • Till the time the unemployed youth doesn't get a job, he will be given a monthly unemployment allowance of Rs.3000
  • 80% of private jobs will be reserved for Goans
  • Families dependent on tourism will get Rs.5000 per month until they get their job back
  • Families dependent on mining will get Rs.5000 per month until they get their job back
  • Skill university will be opened to create jobs
  • Resumption of the mining industry within 6 months of government formation
  • Every woman aged above 18 will receive Rs.1000 per month
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Published December 17th, 2021 at 08:52 IST

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