Kejriwal-Sardesai Goa gambit: Attack defections, welcome rivals

The Aam Aadmi Party and Goa Forward Party on Sunday announced a new political beginning for the state. They announced a pre-poll alliance for the upcoming 2027 assembly election named 'Goa First' and promised voters something the state has struggled to get: a mandate that actually stays intact.There was plenty of familiar political rhetoric at the launch in Panaji on Sunday. AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal claimed that BJP would not win a majority. "The people of Goa want a change. Goa First will form the government. We will win on our own," Kejriwal claimed.Both parties presented the alliance as a credible, "non-BJP, non-Congress alternative".In the press conference, the newly-formed alliance tried to build its political identity around a simple charge: defection.GFP chief Vijai Sardesai attacked the ruling establishment as a government of defectors.