AAP, Goa Forward Party announce ‘Goa First’ alliance for 2027 polls

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Goa Forward Party (GFP) have announced their intention to form an alliance called 'Goa First' for the upcoming Goa Assembly elections in 2027. AAP national convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, along with GFP supremo Vijai Sardesai, addressed a press conference to announce the alliance.

Kejriwal explained that the alliance was necessary due to the people of Goa being "deceived twice" and no longer willing to be deceived. He emphasized that this was the first time the people would have an option apart from the Congress and BJP, a non-BJP, non-Congress alliance, which he believed to be formidable. Sardesai stated that the alliance is of like-minded parties that wish to defeat the BJP and expressed doubts about Congress MLAs not defecting to the BJP, as they had in the past.

Kejriwal denied that the new front would split the opposition vote, stating that the party would draw votes from both those who vote for the BJP and those who vote for the Congress. The GFP, a regional outfit in Goa, previously campaigned on an anti-BJP platform but later helped the BJP form a government despite the Congress being the single largest party.

In the 2022 Goa assembly elections, AAP secured 6.77% of the vote and two seats, while GFP had a vote share of .78% with Sardesai as the sole MLA elected. BJP spokesperson Shripad Naik criticized the alliance, asserting that Goans require stability, development, and leadership that delivers. State Congress president Girish Chodankar emphasized the need for a government that would protect the interests of the people of Goa and warned against a divided opposition. The 40-member Legislative Assembly of Goa is expected to hold elections in early 2027.