Congress should be blamed if BJP wins in Goa: Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut

Sanjay Raut alleged that Congress did not respond to Shiv Sena’s proposal to form a pre-poll alliance along with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Goa Forward Party (GFP).

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New Delhi: Concurring with the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Friday (January 21) hit out at the Congress and said it should be held responsible if BJP comes back to power in Goa. 

Raut further alleged that Congress did not respond to Sena’s proposal to form a pre-poll alliance along with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Goa Forward Party (GFP). Congress is already in a pre-poll alliance with GFP in Goa. 

"Shiv Sena had presented the proposal before Congress as per which the Sonia Gandhi-led party would contest 30 seats, while the rest of the 10 seats could be distributed amongst the alliance partners, including NCP, Sena and GFP. These are the 10 seats in Goa, where Congress has never won," PTI quoted the Shiv Sena leader as saying. 

Earlier on Thursday, TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee had said that if the Congress wrest power from the BJP in Goa, the Congress' state in-charge P Chidambaram should take the onus and resign. He said the TMC had reached out to Chidambaram with a formal offer for pre-poll alliance, but nothing happened. 

Commenting on Banerjee's remark, Raut said, "I agree with the comments of Abhishek Banerjee. We had also tried to hold talks with Congress. We had held a meeting with (Congress leaders) Dinesh Gundu Rao, Digambar Kamat and Girish Chodankar with the proposal that Congress, NCP, GFP and Sena should form an alliance." 

Raut's statement comes after announcing the Shiv Sena's first list of nine candidates for the Goa polls on February 14. Shiv Sena is jointly contesting the 40-member House Goa election with Sharad Pawar-led NCP. 

Goa is witnessing a multi-cornered battle with the entry of TMC and aggressive campaigning by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).  

(With PTI inputs)