The Congress on Sunday alleged that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Aam Admi Party (AAP) were backed by the BJP in Goa, where these two parties want to contest the upcoming Assembly elections to divide secular votes.

All India Congress Committee's Goa desk in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao also said that his party was open for alliance with the "like-minded parties and people who are secular and have local connect".

Addressing a press conference in Panaji along with the party's state unit chief Girish Chodankar and Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat, he said, "The parties like TMC and AAP are in the state to divide the votes. They are backed by the BJP."

Rao accused these parties of indulging in corrupt practices before the elections, scheduled to be held in February next year.

The TMC has recently announced that it plans to contest the Goa Assembly polls on all 40 seats, while AAP, which had contested the election in the state in 2017, is also in the power game.

Rao said the phenomenon of dividing the Congress's votes was not limited to Goa alone, but is found across India.

Responding to a question, the Congress leader said, "The party is open to alliance with like-minded, secular parties and people with local connect."

The Congress looked forward to having a "proper and stable alliance", he said.

The Congress had emerged as the single largest party by winning 17 seats in the last Assembly election held in 2017. However, the BJP, which had bagged 13 seats, acted swiftly and came to power with the support of a few regional parties.