Panaji, Feb 9 (IANS): Goa Congress president Girish Chodankar on Wednesday said that the desertion of the party's 'old guard' of leaders was a blessing in disguise as it led to the emergence of the 'New Congress' in the state, while adding that parties like the BJP, TMC and AAP were symbolic of the old Congress.

Addressing a press conference in Panaji, Chodankar also said that the party would win 22 seats in the February 14 state Assembly elections.

"The Congress today in Goa is the new Congress. Parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party who have taken our old leaders, are now the old Congress. They have helped us create a new clean Congress. Their exit has been a blessing in disguise," Chodankar told reporters here.

The Congress had witnessed a spate of desertions ever since the 2017 Assembly elections, with as many as 15 out of the party's 17 MLAs quitting the outfit. The desertions had continued as the February 2022 Assembly polls drew closer, with top Congress leaders including three former Chief Ministers like Churchill Alemao, Luizinho Faleiro quitting the party to join the TMC, while Ravi Naik joined the BJP.

"The Congress has adapted to the demands of the people. We have given 80 per cent tickets to newcomers, we have kept defectors at bay and ensured that traitors within the party are thrown out," he also said.

Chodankar also said that there was a "growing realisation" among Goan voters that the Congress could form an alternative government in Goa and take on the BJP, which he said had tried to split the anti-BJP vote by facilitating parties like the AAP and TMC in Goa.

"BJP got a lot of parties to Goa to create confusion like the AAP and TMC," he also said.

Goa goes to polls on February 14.