Atishi, Leader of Opposition in Delhi assembly and former Delhi Chief Minister, on Monday said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest the 2027 Goa assembly elections on its own. She further ruled out an alliance with the grand old Congress party for the upcoming polls.
Atishi's comments came after the inauguration of the AAP's office in Margao located in South Goa. She said that besides the assembly elections, the party will contest the upcoming zila panchayat and municipality elections on its own.
"There will be no alliance. AAP will be fighting on its own. As of now, AAP has decided that we are going to contest all the three elections on our own," Atishi told reporters.
She also said that the possibility of an alliance with the Congress has been ruled out because "Congress cannot be trusted".
Substantiating her point further, Atishi mentioned that of the 11 Congress MLAs who won previously, 8 of them have gone to the BJP and only 3 are left.
"In the previous government also, last time also, I think there was only one MLA left. All of them went to the BJP. So, how can the Congress party or their leadership or their MLAs even be trusted with an alliance when Congress MLAs go to the BJP after winning elections."
Meanwhile, Goa AAP chief Amit Palekar said that an alliance with the grand old party is "the only way forward" in the state. Palekar's remark came after the AAP's drubbing in the Delhi assembly polls.
Citing BJP leader and former Goa minister Pandurag Madkaikar's allegations of "rampant loot" in the state, Atishi said: "Everyone can see what is happening in Goa's politics. If an ex-minister has to face so much corruption to get his work done, then what will happen to a common man?"
Madkaikar stated that he had to pay between Rs 15-20 lakh to get his work completed. "If the BJP here is busy filling its pockets…that is why people here do not get good schools, good (access to) healthcare,” Atishi said.
The AAP failed to make an impact in Goa during the 2017 assembly polls but gained traction by winning the Benaulim zilla panchayat seat in 2020. In the 2022 assembly elections, AAP secured two seats, Velim and Benaulim, in South Goa.
During last year's Lok Sabha elections, AAP, as part of the INDIA bloc with Congress, supported Congress candidates for the North Goa and South Goa seats. Congress won in South Goa but lost North Goa to the BJP.