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Panjim: A day after declaring the ‘Goa First’ alliance for the 2027 Goa Assembly elections, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal visited Goa Forward Party (GFP) president Vijay Sardesai’s residence to offer prayers to Ganpati Bappa on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

Kejriwal said he met Sardesai’s family and relatives who had gathered at the residence and sought the blessings of Lord Ganesha.

“Right now, I have come to Vijay Sardesai’s house on the occasion of Ganpati Bappa. I met his entire family and distant relatives who have gathered here. It was wonderful meeting everyone, and we took blessings from Ganpati Bappa at his home. Yesterday, we launched ‘Goa First,’ and on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, we launched it after taking Lord Ganesha’s blessings. Whenever starting any good work, one should seek Lord Ganesha’s blessings first,” Kejriwal told reporters.

The visit came a day after the Aam Aadmi Party and the Goa Forward Party formally announced their pre-poll alliance, ‘Goa First’, ahead of the February 2027 Assembly elections.

The alliance is being projected by the two parties as a non-BJP, non-Congress political alternative in the state. Kejriwal said AAP and GFP would be equal partners and expressed confidence that the alliance would form the next government in Goa.

Sardesai, while speaking about the alliance during the Ganesh puja, linked the occasion to Goa’s political history and the issue of defections.

“Today is a good day, and today also happens to be, it seems, the anniversary of the defection of 2022. So in front of the Lord of wisdom, we have prayed and we have asked that Ganesha gives Goa the wisdom not to have such a defection again, not to allow this perpetual party of defectors to do a hat trick again,” Sardesai told IANS.

He said the alliance intended to put Goa’s interests at the centre of its political agenda.

“So this is our prayer to Lord Ganesha, and we are the viable alternative. We are the first front. We want to prioritize the interests of Goa and Goans, and that is why we call ourselves the ‘Goa First Alliance’. We are the alternative, and in course of time, you will see that every policy of the government that is wrong, we will have an alternative policy for which the socio-politically conscious people of Goa will have a viable alternative,” he said.

The formation of the alliance has drawn criticism from the Congress, which has rejected the ‘Goa First’ pitch as an old political narrative. Congress has also accused Kejriwal of functioning as the “Team B” of the BJP.

Congress leader Pawan Khera, reacting to the AAP-GFP alliance, said, “The former Delhi CM yesterday said that those who do not vote for BJP will vote. He clearly states that there is not much difference between them and the BJP.”

The political significance of the new alliance comes against the backdrop of Goa’s history of shifting political loyalties and defections. The 40-member Goa Legislative Assembly currently has two AAP MLAs and one GFP MLA.

The Goa Forward Party had been an alliance partner of the Congress in the 2022 Assembly elections. The BJP currently heads the state government under Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and has been strengthened by prominent local political figures and legislators who have switched parties.

Congress remains one of the state’s major traditional political forces but has faced factionalism and defections over the years. Apart from the BJP, Congress, AAP and GFP, other players in the state include the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP).

The MGP, Goa’s first ruling party after Portuguese liberation, has historically drawn support among non-Brahmin Hindu communities, while the RGP has emerged as a regional force focusing on local employment and native identity rights.

For GFP, the political message remains closely tied to the idea of Goemkarponn, or Goan identity. With ‘Goa First’, the party and AAP are seeking to position themselves as a common alternative to the BJP and Congress, while also attempting to prevent another split in the opposition vote ahead of the 2027 polls.