Goa polls: TMC announces list of star campaigners

Panaji/Kolkata: All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) on Saturday published the list of its star campaigners who would take part in the election campaign in Goa.

Derek O'Brien, Member National Working Committee of AITC on behalf of the party has written to the Chief Election Commissioner and also to the Chief Electoral Officer of Goa mentioning the names of the star campaigners which include Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Yashwant Sinha, Luizinho Faleiro, the former Chief Minister of Goa, Churchill Alemao, former Chief Minister of Goa, Derek O'Brien, Jawhar Sarkar and many others. The list comprises the names of total 30 Trinamool Congress leaders.

Meanwhile, Nafisa Ali who joined Trinamool Congress in Goa in October last year has urged Congress and other political parties to help Trinamool Congress forge a grand alliance to ouster BJP from Goa. Ali has already written to Sonia Gandhi urging her to form a grand coalition against BJP.

"I am confident if Mrs Sonia Gandhi (Congress) speaks for Goa and feels for Goa , as I know she does, she will tell Mr Chidambaram to envision an alliance with Mamta Banerjee's All India Trinamool Congress. Knowing Mrs Sonia Gandhi, I know that she is above petty ego politics," Ali tweeted.

Incidentally, Trinamool Congress on Saturday lodged a complaint with Election Commission of India (ECI) alleging that EC flying squad barged in their Goa office late on Friday night and tore down flex. They alleged that a group led by two police personnel with a firearm stormed into the party office in plain clothes and ransacked the party office.

In a letter to EC, TMC mentioned that although a security guard was present inside the building but the people identified them as members of the flying squad of EC and they demanded permission for a hoarding that was put up inside the compound and also for the party's glow sign board situated at the compound's entrance. According to Trinamool Congress, the act is a harassment of the party and it is in 'violation of the standard operating procedure'.