Luizinho Faleiro to join TMC in presence of Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata on 29 Sept, say sources

Panaji: Former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro, who resigned as Congress MLA, is set to join the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Kolkata in the presence of the party president and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, sources in TMC said here on Tuesday. Faleiro and others, including some former Congress functionaries from Goa, have already reached Kolkata, the sources said. The Congress veteran resigned as an MLA and as a primary member of Congress on Monday and said the Goa party unit was run by a “coterie of leaders who prioritise only self-interest”. Faleiro Monday refused to reveal whether he would join the TMC but praised Mamata Banerjee, saying the country needs a leader like her to take on prime minister Narendra Modi. Faleiro would be joining the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) along with other leaders on Wednesday in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, sources said, adding that former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee general secretaries Yatish Naik and Vijai Pai, senior lawyer Antonio Clovis da Costa, and writer N Shivdas are also accompanying Faleiro. The exit of Faleiro, who represented the Navelim Assembly seat, has reduced the Congress’ strength in the 40-member Goa Assembly to four. TMC leader Derek O’Brien told PTI on Saturday in Goa that the party will be contesting the upcoming Assembly polls and they were in touch with several local leaders. He had said that the TMC will announce its chief ministerial candidate soon. In the 2017 Assembly elections in Goa, Congress won the highest 17 seats in the 40-member House restricting the BJP to 13. However, the saffron party outsmarted the Congress by tying up with regional parties and formed government under the leadership of senior leader Manohar Parrikar.