Congress has always betrayed its allies; no pre-poll tie-up with it in Goa, says AAP leader

Panaji, Aug 19 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Goa on Tuesday accused the Congress of "always ditching" its allies, and ruled out any possibility of forging a pre-poll alliance with the grand old party in the coastal state in the 2027 assembly elections.

Talking to reporters, AAP's state unit president Amit Palekar said, "The general perception in Goa is that voting for Congress is like voting for the BJP as elected MLAs from the party have repeatedly defected to the saffron camp in the past." "The Congress is a high command-driven party. Every time its MLAs get elected, they end up joining the BJP. We have seen this happen twice in Goa. People feel voting for Congress is like voting for BJP," he said.

Palekar alleged that while the AAP had extended support to Congress candidates in the last Lok Sabha elections, the party has "always ditched its partners", and cited the examples of Gujarat (bypolls) and Haryana state elections.

"There is no question of forging an alliance with the Congress. We are neither hopeful nor looking forward to doing it," the AAP leader said, asserting that his party would contest the 2027 Goa assembly elections on its own.

The AAP has two MLAs in the 40-member Goa legislative assembly. PTI RPS NP