After Chidambaram said that AAP will only 'fracture' the only-BJP vote in Goa, Kejriwal hit back at him. (File photo)Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday claimed Arvind Kejriwal has “confirmed” that parties like AAP and TMC will only “split” the non-BJP vote in Goa. He asserted that the actual contest in the state will be between Congress and BJP.
Appealing to voters to elect Congress, Chidambaram, who is the Congress’ senior election observer for the Goa Assembly polls, tweeted, “My assessment that the AAP (and the TMC) will only fracture the non-BJP vote in Goa has been confirmed by Mr Arvind Kejriwal. The contest in Goa is between Congress and BJP,” he said.
“Those who want a regime change (after 10 years of misrule) will vote for the Congress. Those who want the regime to continue will vote for the BJP. The choice before the voter in Goa is stark and clear—do you want a regime change or not,” the Congress leader asked.
“I appeal to the voters of Goa to vote for a regime change and vote Congress,” Chidambaram added.
Best of Express Premium
मेरा आकलन है कि आम आदमी पार्टी (और तृणमूल कांग्रेस) गोवा में गैर-भाजपा वोट को केवल खंडित करेगा, श्री अरविंद केजरीवाल द्वारा पुष्टि की गई है।
गोवा में मुकाबला कांग्रेस और भाजपा के बीच है।
— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) January 17, 2022
Chidambaram’s remarks came a day after Kejriwal’s comments that his party is ready to be part of a coalition government in Goa if the February 14 polls throw up a fractured mandate.
Hitting back at Chidambaram, AAP national convener Kejriwal said Goans will vote where they see hope and “Congress is hope for BJP, not Goans”. He also asked Chidambaram to “stop crying” about votes being split.
“Goans will vote where they see hope. Cong is hope for BJP, not Goans. 15 of ur 17 MLAs switched to BJP,” Kejriwal tweeted, tagging Chidambaram’s tweets.
Kejriwal added, “Cong guarantee—every vote to Cong will be safely delivered to BJP. To vote BJP, route through Cong for safe delivery.”
सर, रोना बंद कीजिए- “हाय रे, मर गए रे, हमारे वोट काट दिए रे”
Goans will vote where they see hope
Cong is hope for BJP, not Goans.15 of ur 17 MLAs switched to BJP
Cong guarantee- every vote to Cong will be safely delivered to BJP. To vote BJP, route thro Cong for safe delivery https://t.co/tJ0cswgi74
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 17, 2022
Kejriwal said Sunday that the AAP will not ally with the TMC as the people were not interested in “jod-tod ki rajneeti (politics of making and breaking).”
“We don’t understand this jod-tod ki rajneeti. We are very simple and innocent people… this Opposition unity, we will all defeat one party together, we will defeat this leader… people have nothing to do with this. People want their lives to be better, their children to get good education, if someone is sick in the family, they should get good treatment. That is what we are ready to do. I know how to bring about development. For jod-tod they (other political parties) are all sitting there. They do this all night,” Kejriwal said.
Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress has indicated that its supremo Mamata Banerjee had reached out to the top Congress leadership, possibly party chief Sonia Gandhi, two weeks ago and “made a definite offer” for an electoral understanding to take on the ruling BJP. Speaking to The Indian Express Saturday, TMC Goa in-charge Mahua Moitra said the “principals” of both the parties have spoken.
Assembly polls for all 40 seats in Goa will be held on February 14.
(With PTI inputs)
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
