“Goa First was launched with considerable political ambition. The alliance between the Aam Aadmi Party and Goa Forward Party was projected as an alternative to both the BJP and Congress. Its central argument was simple: Goa needed a political formation that would put Goa first rather than serve the interests of national parties.
That message was not merely electoral. It was the very identity of the alliance.
But barely weeks after its launch, Goa First appears to be facing its first major credibility test.
The problem is not that opposition parties are talking to each other. In fact, if the objective is to defeat the BJP in 2027, opposition unity is a legitimate political strategy. The problem is that the parties involved are now sending conflicting signals about what Goa First actually represents.”
The sudden disappearance of Goa First hoardings across the state has raised a political question that cannot be brushed aside as a routine change in advertising. The hoardings carried a strong political message against both the BJP and Congress, declaring that Goans had been “cheated” twice and should not be cheated a third time. Now, at a time when Congress and Goa Forward are showing signs of coming closer, those hoardings have reportedly vanished.
The timing is difficult to ignore.
Goa First was launched with considerable political ambition. The alliance between the Aam Aadmi Party and Goa Forward Party was projected as an alternative to both the BJP and Congress. Its central argument was simple: Goa needed a political formation that would put Goa first rather than serve the interests of national parties.
That message was not merely electoral. It was the very identity of the alliance.
But barely weeks after its launch, Goa First appears to be facing its first major credibility test.
The problem is not that opposition parties are talking to each other. In fact, if the objective is to defeat the BJP in 2027, opposition unity is a legitimate political strategy. The problem is that the parties involved are now sending conflicting signals about what Goa First actually represents.
AAP has openly questioned Goa Forward chief Vijai Sardesai’s position after indications emerged that GFP could be open to a broader alliance involving Congress. AAP’s argument is that Goa First was created as a non Congress, non BJP platform. If one of its principal partners now moves towards Congress, what happens to the very idea behind Goa First?
That is a fair question.
The Congress and GFP talks have added another layer of uncertainty. For GFP, joining a wider opposition arrangement could make electoral sense. For Congress, bringing Sardesai into a broader anti BJP front could help consolidate opposition votes. For the BJP, a divided opposition remains the most comfortable situation.
But politics is not merely about arithmetic.
There is also a question of credibility.
When Goa First was launched, the message was that both Congress and BJP had failed Goa. The hoardings reinforced that narrative in unusually blunt language. If the same political leadership now begins negotiating with one of the parties it had placed on the same side of the political divide, voters are entitled to ask whether the earlier message was genuine or simply an electoral strategy.
This is where Goa First faces its biggest test.
Was it conceived as a serious political alternative for 2027 or was it always intended to be a temporary arrangement until a larger opposition alliance could be negotiated?
If the latter is true, voters deserve to know.
The disappearance of the hoardings does not necessarily mean the alliance has ended. Hoardings can be removed for several reasons. But when they disappear precisely when the political partners are publicly disagreeing and GFP is simultaneously opening the door to a broader opposition arrangement, the symbolism becomes difficult to overlook.
The danger for Goa Forward is equally serious.
Vijai Sardesai has built his political identity around regionalism and the argument that Goa’s interests must come before the calculations of national political parties. That gives him a distinct political space. But if GFP becomes part of a Congress dominated opposition arrangement, it risks losing that independent identity.
AAP, meanwhile, has its own challenge. If Goa First collapses, it will have to explain why the alliance it promoted as the alternative to both Congress and BJP could not survive even a few weeks of political pressure.
And that leaves the people of Goa watching.
The opposition is talking about unity because it understands that a fragmented anti BJP vote could once again benefit the ruling party. But unity cannot be created merely by putting different parties on one platform. There has to be a common political purpose, a seat sharing formula, leadership clarity and, most importantly, trust among the partners.
At present, none of that appears settled.
Goa First was born with the promise of offering voters something different. If that experiment is already being sacrificed at the altar of a larger opposition alliance, then the question is unavoidable:
Was Goa First ever meant to be a political alternative, or was it simply a stepping stone towards the next alliance?
The disappearance of the hoardings may therefore be more than the removal of political advertising.
It could be the first visible sign that Goa First itself is losing its political firstness.
