EC should auction seats instead of holding polls: Goa AAP

The Goa Convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Elvis Gomes on Monday said the Election Commission (EC) should henceforth just "auction" every seat to the highest bidder instead of holding an election.

Addressing the media here, Gomes also said that news reports suggesting that the AAP's Goa unit was folding up following the defeat of the party nominees at the hustings were incorrect and that the state unit would continue to work in Goa in line with the party's philosophy.

It was Gomes's first press briefing since the party suffered a body blow in the February 4 state elections, in which the AAP failed to win a single seat. The results were announced last Saturday.

"Money plays a big role in deciding who is elected, because the EC machinery has failed. Sometimes I wonder why we should have elections at all? It would be better if the Commission conducts an auction of the seats. Let the highest bidder win it, instead of going through this whole process of contesting election and holding rallies," Gomes told media persons.

"We are confused (about) what people want," Gomes said, adding that the party tried to offer a proper and correct alternative to the Goans, which included introduction of new faces in the political arena, giving tickets to candidates without criminal antecedents and setting aside the communal and caste-based formulas.

"Beyond this what people want, we can't understand... We will try to understand the people better," the Goa AAP Convenor said.