Congress will form govt in Goa, there’s no doubt about it: Luizinho Faleiro

Faleiro, however, was non committal on whether he will approach the Goa Forward Party seeking an alliance with Vijai Sardesai.

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Goa Congress president Luizinho Faleiro

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Luizinho Faleiro has said the Congress Party is set to form government in the state and the 17 seats were a message that the blessings of the people are with the party. “There is no doubt about it, we are going to form government. We are falling short by a couple of seats but we have supported some Independents who will back us,” Faleiro told the Indian Express.

Having successfully contested from Navelim, Faleiro won with a margin of 2478 votes, defeating Independent candidate Avertano Furtado who was minister for Labour, Employment and Fisheries in the BJP government.

Faleiro, however, was non committal on whether he will approach the Goa Forward Party seeking an alliance with Vijai Sardesai. In the run-up to the elections, Faleiro had refused to enter into an alliance with Goa Forward, putting up Congress candidates in all the four constituencies that Goa Forward contested from. While Goa Forward won three of those four, Congress managed one.

Sources in Goa Forward have said that there was little choice but to offer support to the Congress Party as it would lead to betraying their electorate, having led a vociferous campaign against the BJP government in the run up to the elections. Sardesai, a former Congress leader, remained non-committal, saying his party prefers working around a common minimum programme. In any case, Goa Governor Mridula Sinha will have to invite the Congress Party to form government, given it has emerged as the single largest party.