Amid poll push, Kejriwal meets MGP chief in Goa

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal arrived in Goa for a two-day visit on Tuesday and met Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) chief Deepak Dhavalikar and his brother Sudin at a city hotel, sparking talks of a possible alliance ahead of the 2022 assembly elections.

AAP workers welcomed Kejriwal at the airport in the afternoon, after which he went to a hotel in Dona Paula locality near Panaji. After the meeting, Sudin told reporters that it was just a “courtesy” visit.

“There is nothing about an alliance. We discussed the good work he has done and the good work I have done with regard to water supply in Goa,” Sudin said.

“For a long time we had not met each other... He had even come to Goa once (recently) but we couldn’t meet. I was supposed to go to Delhi but I didn’t get the time,” he added.

The MGP was part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led ruling alliance in the state, but it broke the alliance after two of its MLAs “defected” to the BJP in a midnight move ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

During his visit, Kejriwal will review the AAP organisation in the coastal state and also meet several leaders of the party, a senior AAP functionary said.

“There were a series of meetings lined up with the local leadership of the AAP including one-on-one meetings,” AAP state convener Rahul Mhambre told HT.

Kejriwal is scheduled to address a press conference in Panaji on Wednesday.