NCP stakes claim for North Goa LS seat
PTI, PANAJI | 03 November 2012 20:37 IST
NCP today staked its claim for the North Goa parliamentary seat for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections claiming that it will fight the polls in alliance with the Congress.
The party had lost North Goa Lok Sabha seat to BJP during the last election, while Congress had won the South Goa seat.
Senior NCP leader Praful Patel said that Congress-NCP will fight the Parliamentary polls in alliance with the Congress and will continue its claim on the North Goa Lok Sabha seat.
Responding to a question regarding troubled relations with Congress, Patel said, "We are considering that we are going to fight elections together. We are in alliance with Congress and there is every likelihood that we will fight assembly elections together in Gujarat also."
Conceding that NCP's humiliating defeat in Goa polls was due to failure of the party organisation and also non cooperation by Congress workers, Patel said, "there was anti-Congress, anti-NCP mood that also cost the party."
"At certain places, the support by Congress party was not the fullest as we were expecting. We don't blame the Congress leadership. We have told Congress that they need to work closely with NCP," Patel commented.
Expecting victory for Congress-NCP alliance in the Goa during Parliamentary elections, Patel said that honeymoon period with the current government would soon come to an end.
"When the Parrikar government completes one year, the honeymoon period will end. We don't want to disturb their honeymoon period," Patel added.
The North Goa Parliamentary constituency seat is as good as 'reserved' for Shripad Naik of BJP. It is difficult to defeat him.
Congress and NCP should have made at least one of the MPs of Goa, a Minister in Delhi.
They have failed Goa. Should not dream of winning the North Goa seat anymore.
A typical product, congress breed, Mr. Patel, day dreaming of NCP winning North Goa seat. With the humiliating defeat of NCP in Goa, it is a tall claim by Mr.Patel. With highest limit of corruption in Goa by Congress and NCP coalition, NCP is totally uprooted in Goa and will not see any win in future. Goan voters have voted BJP to power and shown the door to NCP and Congress never to run the Government in Goa in future. After taken for a ride, with corruption every where, Goans have hammered the final nail in Congress coffin. Mr. Parrikar will not only complete one year of his honeymoon, but will complete his full five year term.
All is not well in Goa!! Certainly this is going to reflect in 2014 polls. With differences growing between two big BJP leaders of the state (not to name them), its certainly not going to be Cake walk for BJP. I only wish best luck to them. Nilesh, Mumbai