West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is seeking to expand the political footprint of her Trinamool Congress (TMC) beyond her home state, where she returned to power for a third consecutive term in May, by seeking to wrest power in the western Indian state of Goa.
Banerjee will be in poll-bound Goa on a two-day visit beginning October 28 to make her first contact with the Goa electorate.
Ahead of her visit, Banerjee urged the people of Goa to come together to defeat the “divisive” agenda of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Together, we will usher in a new dawn for Goa by forming a new govt that will truly be a govt of the people of Goa and committed to realising their aspirations! ,” the TMC chief tweeted on October 23.
Strategic expansion
Soon after a resounding victory in the West Bengal assembly polls, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said the party would expand its base in other states to take on the BJP.
For now, the TMC is focusing on two states –Tripura in the northeast and Goa in the West. The plan for expansion in Tripura is aimed at tapping the Bengali-speaking population there; in Goa, it reflects a strategy to try and find space between the BJP and the Congress.
READ: TMC leaders' visit to Goa triggers buzz of party's poll foray in BJP-ruled state
“Surveys have shown resentment against the present BJP government. Congress has lost ten MLAs to the BJP since 2017,” a TMC leader said, noting that the Aam Aadmi Party, too was, trying to make its presence felt in Goa. “Under these circumstances, TMC feels it can fill the space,” said the TMC leader, who requested anonymity.
Reports have also suggested that the TMC may accommodate a new entrant from Goa on the Rajya Sabha seat that fell vacant after its MP Arpita Ghosh resigned.
The TMC, which in 2012 failed to win a single seat in Goa, has announced that it will contest the elections in the coastal state seriously.
The party has brought on board former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro, a Congress veteran of 40 years, who was last week appointed TMC’s national vice president. Apart from independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar, who has announced that he would extend support to the TMC, the party is reported to be in talks with many independent leaders.
The Congress had won the highest, 17, of the 40 assembly seats in 2017, restricting the BJP to 13. The BJP allied with regional parties and formed government under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar, one of the tallest Goan leaders, who passed away in 2019. The Congress now has only four MLAs.
I-PAC on the ground
Ahead of Banerjee’s Goa visit, TMC will on October 25 released a “chargesheet” against the alleged misrule of BJP government in Goa. TMC leaders including Lok Sabha MPs Saugata Roy and Mahua Moitra, former Union minister Babul Supriyo, who recently quit BJP and joined the TMC, attend the event in Panaji’s Azad Maidan where the document will be released.
The "chargesheet" claimed that there was political instability, misrule and suffering during last two decades in Goa.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had launched a similar “chargesheet” against the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) before the Tamil Nadu polls won by the former. Interestingly, like the DMK, the TMC is backed by political strategist Prashant Kishor’s Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), whose volunteers have been camping in Goa for more than three months.
Also, read: Mamata Banerjee's Goa visit makes sure TMC entry to coastal state
The TMC has already dispatched to Goa its Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’ Brien, the party’s Catholic face, according to a report in Hindustan Times. The party has also opened an office in Panjim and rented accommodation in a rural area near the state capital.
‘Political tourism’
The Goa assembly elections, due early next year, is expected to witness a number of political parties stepping in with claims of being alternatives to the ruling BJP.
Apart from ruling BJP, the other parties that are in the fray are the Congress and regional entities like the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP and the TMC.
The entry of two regional outfits – Revolutionary Goans and Gencho Avaz – in the fight for the first time has added an element of intrigue to the polls. The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have also indicated they may field candidates in Goa.
Both the TMC and the AAP could not open their accounts in the 2017 assembly elections. The BJP, which has been in power in the state for two consecutive terms since 2012, believes that the more the parties in the fray the better for it because it will lead to a division of opposition votes, media reports say.
At an event to mark World Tourism Day on September 28, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant took a dig at political parties from other states entering the poll arena and said he welcomed all kinds of tourism, including, "political tourism".
"We are promoting medical tourism, spiritual tourism, hinterland tourism, and political tourism. I feel political tourism has started in Goa. Elections are close. I welcome all kinds of tourism so that tourist business should increase in the state," Sawant said.
Independent legislators hold the key
The TMC is said to be in touch with independent and smaller parties for a possible tie-up ahead of the February 2022 assembly polls. TMC leaders have reportedly reached out to independent legislators and Goa Forward party leaders too. But the party is yet to decide on an alliance with any party.
The Congress, meanwhile, seems to be averse to an alliance, putting the onus on the central leadership to decide on a tie-up. “It is for the high command to decide,” Goa Pradesh Congress committee chief Girish Chodankar told news agency PTI recently.
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