Taking a dig at the Congress after eight of its 11 MLAs in Goa joined the BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday said that voting for Congress is akin to voting for BJP.

“Operation Lotus fails in Delhi and Punjab, succeeds in Goa… Because when you vote for Congress, you elect a future BJP MLA,” tweeted AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, while adding, “Congress is over, resting in pieces.”

Read Also: After Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal claims BJP approached 10 Punjab AAP MLAs

In the 40-member strong Goa legislative assembly, Congress is now reduced to only three MLAs, followed by AAP, which has two MLAs. After Punjab and Delhi, AAP is desperate to make inroads into Goa, Haryana and Gujarat. This development comes a day after Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal declared that the Congress is “finished.”

Responding to a journalist on an allegation levelled by the Congress regarding AAP’s Gujarat campaign, Kejriwal said, “Please don’t take Congress’ questions. No one cares about them.”

This is the second huge blow for the Congress in Goa in the last three years. In 2019, 10 of its 15 MLAs had joined hands with the BJP.

Also Read: High drama at Arvind Kejriwal’s dinner at auto-rickshaw driver’s home in Ahmedabad

Meanwhile, the AAP has declared that after it defeated the infamous ‘Operation Lotus’ ploy by the BJP in Delhi, it averted mass defection in Punjab as well. Earlier today, Kejriwal claimed that the BJP had unsuccessfully tried poaching 10 of its MLAs in Punjab.

Last month, Kejriwal claimed that BJP had tried to lure its MLAs for Rs 20-25 crore in a bid to break away from the party and replace his government in Delhi.

Meanwhile, the Congress maintained a defiant stance despite a huge setback in Goa and said that the party remains unfazed by the BJP’s “Operation Kichad”. The party also said that BJP is acting desperately as it is afraid of the ‘Bharat Jodo’ yatra. Taking to Twitter, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote, “Operation Kichad of BJP in Goa has been fast tracked because of the visible success of the #BharatJodoYatra. BJP is nervous. A daily dose of diversion & disinformation is handed out to undermine the Yatra. We remain undeterred. We will overcome these dirty tricks of the BJP.”