Panaji: Giving a new poll slogan of ‘Khel Zatlo’ in Goa, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Monday an anti-BJP alliance has already taken shape in the coastal state . Mamata Banerjee said it has happened due to her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC). She added that now it is for the Congress to decide whether it wants to join the grouping ahead of elections to take on the saffron outfit.
Banerjee addressed a public meeting at Benaulim in South Goa. She said the TMC will not allow the ruling BJP to win the elections in Goa, due in early 2022. At a separate event, Banerjee, who is on a two-day visit to the state, said there will be ‘Khel Zatlo’ in Goa (‘Zatlo’ is a Konkani term to mean ‘will happen’). She had earlier raised the ‘Khela Hobe’ (game is on) slogan during the West Bengal Assembly poll campaign earlier this year.
At the public meeting, Banerjee said the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) has already joined her anti-BJP alliance. Also the NCP’s lone MLA in the state, Churchill Alemao, has merged the party’s state legislative unit with the TMC. “If the Congress thinks they want to defeat the BJP, we have no objection. We already have the MGP on board. If you want to join, join us. We have already formed the alliance,” the Bengal chief minister said after inducting Alemao into her party.
Earlier in the day, Alemao merged the NCP’s Goa legislature unit with the TMC, giving a boost to the Kolkata-headquartered party ahead of the Assembly polls in the tiny seaside state.
Talking about the anti-BJP alliance, Banerjee, who is also the chairperson of the TMC, claimed her party has already become an alternative to the saffron outfit in Goa. “The MGP has joined the alliance, the NCP has merged its legislature unit (with TMC). If anyone wants not to divide votes, come and join us,” Banerjee said in a message directed at the Congress. “We will not allow the BJP to win (in Goa) this time,” she vowed.
Banerjee also tried to strike a chord with the Christian community, which has a sizeable presence in Goa. She said she has been attending Christmas midnight masses since the last 20 years without a break. “After our government was formed, we celebrate Christmas in Kolkata in a big way. I am going to inaugurate a function (on occasion of the upcoming festival) on 20th of this month,” informed Banerjee.
Banerjee also spoke out her closeness to Mother Teresa due to which she said she was even invited to the Vatican. Earlier, while addressing local TMC leaders, she said her party has entered the poll fray not to control the state, but to use its experience to help Goans. She exuded confidence that the TMC will win the Goa assembly elections and said if anyone wants to defeat the BJP it is up to them to support her party in achieving that goal.