Panaji: Virtually nixing the plans to create a third front for the coming assembly elections to take on the BJP, the Goa Forward Party (GFP) has decided that “all friendly political parties” in the state need to come together on a single platform. The party has decided to restart alliance talks with the Congress and other opposition parties.GFP’s state executive held a meeting chaired by its party president Vijai Sardesai on Friday, where a decision was taken that all opposition forces need to unite in order to avoid splitting the opposition votes in the coming elections.In a statement, the party said that all political parties that are “genuinely committed to ousting the BJP” must come together, unite, and fight the elections on a common platform.The Goa First alliance between the GFP and AAP was announced with fanfare as a ‘third front’, as a non-Congress and non-BJP alternative on September 13. However, within weeks the alliance began to break down as both the parties faced a backlash from voters and party supporters.Sensing a resistance to a third front, Sardesai had been taking a conciliatory tone by reiterating that the people of Goa want a “grand alliance” of all the parties to defeat the BJP. On Friday, Sardesai said that his party decided to respect the public sentiment and restart alliance discussions to defeat the “communal, corrupt and vindictive BJP” in Goa.GFP is a Congress alliance partner, but over the last three months it has been attacking the Congress by repeatedly alluding to the Congress being hand in glove with the BJP.GFP state executive committee also discussed the deletion of voters from the electoral rolls through the SIR process, calling it a serious issue of vote chori. “Concrete evidence of electoral malpractice has emerged. We will formally lodge a complaint and escalate the matter immediately,” said GFP in a public statement.The party has asked all voters to check their details in the electoral rolls to ensure that their names have not been deleted.
