PANAJI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state chief Jose Philip D’Souza has said that if the Congress party is not interested in forming the grand alliance then the party will unite all other like-minded secular parties and form a pre-poll alliance.
Speaking to media persons at the state office in Panaji, D’Souza said “After the Bihar elections I had proposed that a similar grand mahagathbandhan should be formed in Goa to defeat the BJP. But even after several attempts, if the Congress party is not interested then we will go ahead and form an alliance of all other like-minded parties.”
However, he further stated that in the eventuality of the alliance not being formed the NCP will contest on atleast 35 seats.
“We are already preparing to contest in all constituencies. If there is no alliance at all then the third option is to contest alone and we are prepared to contest atleast on 35 seats,” he added.
Hitting back at his critics that the NCP was a single-man party, D’Souza said that the party’s growing strength in South Goa is proof that the party is not a single-man party. He said “With people like Churchill, Nelly and Barreto joining the party, we are becoming stronger in the South and let people know our strength.”
Meanwhile, the party is organising its workers convention on November 3 in Mapusa. D’Souza said that the convention will be addressed by NCP general secretary and Goa desk in-charge Praful Patel.
He further informed that the NCP state general secretary Anil Jolapure has been expelled by the party for anti-party activities and not following the party discipline.