Goa: Luizinho Faleiro quits as Congress MLA, praises TMC chief Mamata Banerjee

Resigning as Congress MLA, he tweeted: "I, Luizinho Faleiro, hereby tender my resignation of my seat in the house w.e.f. 27th Sep 2021. I thank the people of #Navelim for placing their trust in me & look forward to their continued support in all future endeavors. #Goa #newbeginnings."

Appreciating Banerjee, the Goan leader tweeted: "@MamataOfficial is a symbol of women empowerment. She is fighting divisive forces and poses a direct challenge to@BJP4India . She is a street-fighter and #Goa needs her."

Luizinho Faleiro has not made it clear that he will join the TMC so far.

Goa will vote to elect a new Assembly next year.

The development comes days after TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said his party will plunge into Goa politics, throwing a challenge to his arch-rival Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules the state.

The TMC has already activated its organisation in Tripura and Assam, which are also governed by the BJP.

Banerjee announced his plans to expand his party after the TMC decimated the BJP in bitterly-fought 2021 West Bengal Assembly Elections, where the saffron party threw everything to assume power for the first time.