Panaji, Oct 9 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered a setback in Goa ahead of the 2027 assembly elections after its working president resigned, protesting Arvind Kejriwal’s decision to contest the state election solo without forming an alliance.

AAP’s Goa Working President Rajesh Kalangutkar resigned from his post on Thursday, expressing strong opposition to party chief Arvind Kejriwal’s declaration during the Goa visit that AAP would contest the 2027 Goa Assembly elections alone.

Kalangutkar, who had fought the 2022 assembly poll on an AAP ticket, speaking to IANS, said that Kejriwal’s decision to “go solo” was erroneous and would ultimately benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party by splintering the opposition’s vote share. He confirmed his resignation immediately after Kejriwal’s four-day visit, during which the party chief explicitly ruled out an electoral arrangement with the Congress or other local parties in the state.

“Going alone in the Goa assembly election is a wrong decision and will damage the party,” Kalangutkar asserted.

He warned that this move would divide the opposition votes, thereby facilitating the BJP’s return to power in 2027 in the state.

“If the party chooses to go it alone, even the leaders and workers may leave the party after realizing the situation. Forming an alliance, however, would benefit AAP,” Kalangutkar told IANS.

During his visit, the AAP National Convenor had launched a scathing attack on the Congress, repeatedly alleging a nexus between the national opposition party and the ruling BJP in the coastal state. Kejriwal stated that the Congress “cannot be trusted” and has a history of supplying MLAs to the BJP, claiming both parties are part of a corrupt political system.

The former Delhi CM directly linked a senior Congress state president to the state’s mining business, asserting such operations could not continue without the Chief Minister’s blessing.

Kalangutkar countered that Kejriwal’s strategy of targeting Congress while going solo would send a message of disunity among the anti-BJP forces.

“The people who oppose the BJP want a united front. They seek change and understand that only a united opposition can defeat the BJP. A repeat of the ruling BJP in the 2027 polls would be disastrous for Goa,” he told IANS.

The former working president confirmed he would remain in politics but had not yet finalized his future course of action, advocating for a consolidated opposition front.

–IANS

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