The Trinamool Congress on Saturday appointed Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra as the state in-charge of party's Goa unit ahead of the Assembly elections slated for early next year.
The Mamata Banerjee-led party has decided to contest all the 40 seats on its own in the western state in what is seen as its biggest foray into the national political theatre and launched a high-decibel campaign.
“Honourable chairperson Mamata Banerjee looks forward to a brighter future for Goa, with All India Trinamool Congress paving the way with courage and wisdom,” said a statement issued by party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
Moitra, an MP from Krishnanagar, was part of a TMC delegation which visited Goa last month and met the family members of Siddhi Naik, a 19-year-old youth who was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Calangute beach. Though police are still investigating the case, the party attacked the state government, saying the crime rate in Goa has increased by 60 per cent in the last four years.
"The Goa police has not followed standard procedure. Everyone seems to be hand-in-glove to cover this case up. We will raise this case in Delhi,” Moitra had said.
In the last Goa Assembly polls, the Congress won 17 seats and the BJP 13. The saffron party, however, stitched alliance with a few regional parties and formed government under Manohar Parrikar.
The TMC, which is in talks with several leaders and outfits in Goa, has recently got a shot in the arm with two popular faces— former CM Luizonho Faleiro and Prasad Goankar—joining the party.