TMC's presence in Goa will benefit BJP in polls, says Sanjay Raut

Attacking TMC in his weekly column 'Rokhtok' in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', Sanjay Raut said the TMC has roped in "unreliable leaders" from other parties in Goa and this attitude does not suit West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s image.

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New Delhi: Weeks ahead of the upcoming Goa Assembly polls, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday (January 9) hit out at Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) for an "anti-Congress" stand and claimed the party’s presence will benefit BJP. 

Attacking TMC in his weekly column 'Rokhtok' in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', Raut said the TMC has roped in "unreliable leaders" from other parties and this attitude does not suit West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s image, who is herself fighting the BJP.

Raut said all parties have made Goa a "political laboratory". "The TMC's presence in Goa will benefit BJP the most," PTI quoted the Rajya Sabha MP as saying. 

He added, "It is understandable if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP's aim is to wipe out the Congress's existence. But, if Banerjee has the same aim, it doesn't suit her image.” 

Further, Raut claimed without elaborating that the TMC is spending extravagantly in Goa for the Assembly polls and "many say the source of funds spent by the party is somewhere else". 

In December last year, Shiv Sena had slammed Banerjee's "no UPA" remark and said that creating an alliance parallel to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) without the grand old party is akin to strengthening the ruling BJP and the "fascist" forces.

On Saturday, the Election Commission of India announced that polls to all 40 Assembly constituencies in Goa would be held on February 14. The BJP, Congress, Goa Forward Party (GFP), Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress Party (TMC), and NCP are the main political parties in the fray.

(With agency inputs)