Team Goemkarponn
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led nationally by Sharad Pawar, has begun discussions with the Congress over the possibility of a pre-election alliance in Goa, signalling a change in its political strategy ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
A delegation of the Goa NCP, led by state president Jose Philip D’Souza, met Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief Girish Chodankar on Tuesday to discuss the prospects of bringing Opposition parties together before the next Assembly polls.
Addressing the media after the meeting, D’Souza said the initiative was taken following guidance from the party’s national leadership, which has encouraged state units to work towards building a broader coalition of Opposition parties.
According to him, there is growing public sentiment in favour of a united Opposition, and the NCP believes parties with similar political objectives should work together to provide voters with an alternative to the BJP.
He also indicated that the proposed alliance could follow the model of the INDIA bloc at the national level, with the Congress playing a central role because it is the largest Opposition party in Goa. The responsibility of initiating discussions with other like-minded parties, he said, should rest with the Congress.
The latest outreach marks a significant shift in the NCP’s approach. Before the 2022 Goa Assembly elections, the party and the Congress were unable to finalise an alliance after talks over seat distribution failed to produce an agreement. The NCP subsequently contested the election alongside the Shiv Sena instead of joining hands with the Congress.
Although Tuesday’s meeting did not result in any formal announcement, it signals the beginning of efforts to assess whether a wider Opposition alliance can be forged well before the 2027 Assembly elections. Political observers believe further consultations among Opposition parties are likely in the coming months as preparations for the next electoral contest gather momentum.
