The AAP today claimed that it has learnt from "reliable sources" that the BJP is set to replace Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant ahead of next year's assembly polls as people are unhappy with the performance of the state government.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, senior AAP leader and Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed that the BJP has decided to appoint a new chief minister because it has understood that it would be difficult to go to polls under Mr Sawant's leadership.
An immediate reaction was not available from the BJP.
People of Goa are unhappy with the state government under Mr Sawant's leadership as his dispensation failed to deliver on various fronts during its term, Mr Sisodia said.
"We have learnt from very reliable sources that the BJP is going to replace Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant just two-three months ahead of the elections in the state," Mr Sisodia told reporters.
"The BJP has decided to remove Sawant and appoint a new chief minister as it has understood that it will be very difficult for the party to join the fray under his leadership because he did not work during his term. People are very unhappy with the Pramod Sawant government," he claimed.
The AAP leader asserted that his party will emerge victorious in the upcoming assembly polls in Goa even after appointment of a new chief minister by the BJP.
"Just by changing the face, people will not be deceived. By replacing the current chief minister with someone else, mood of the people will not be changed. People will give their mandate to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming Assembly elections," he said.
Mr Sisodia listed various failures of the BJP government under Chief Minister Sawant and alleged that it was "sitting idle" when the number of Covid positive cases were increasing in the state.
"As a result, the infection rate reached 50 per cent, highest in the country. Goa panchayats had to impose lockdown to prevent spread of COVID-19," he said.
Targeting the BJP, the AAP leader also accused the Goa government of making a false promise of providing employment to 10,000 youth and increasing salary of the "corona warriors" by 20 per cent.
He also alleged that the Goa government has failed in controlling "rising crime" in the state.
The AAP, which could not win any seat in the last Goa assembly elections in 2017, is gearing up to contest all 40 seats in the polls due to be held early next year, hoping to not just open its account this time but also form its government.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
