Ex-Goa CM Faleiro Joins TMC, Urges Mamata To ‘Protect’ His State

Kolkata: Former Goa chief minister and Congress leader Luizinho Faleiro, along with a clutch of ex-Congress leaders from the state, joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday.

Faleiro and the others were inducted into the party by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and senior state minister Subrata Mukherjee at the party office in Kolkata.

TMC has been trying to spread its wings outside West Bengal keeping in mind the 2024 general elections in mind. Party leaders have said recently that Mamata Didi, not Rahul Gandhi, should be the face of the Opposition that can oust BJP from power.

“I have appealed to Didi (Mamata) to come to Goa, and protect its culture and identity,” Faleiro said after joining TMC.

“Didi has been a streetfighter… A fighter par excellence. They (BJP) tried everything, used all agencies, but they couldn’t break her indomitable spirit and unparalleled courage,” Faleiro added, referring to the West Bengal assembly elections earlier this year in which TMC won 213 seats and BJP 77.

Welcoming Faleiro to the party fold, Mamata said TMC will fight “divisive forces and work towards ushering in a new dawn” in Goa.