Panaji, May 17 (IANS): The Nationalist Congress Party in Goa on Monday maintained that last week's exodus of its top leaders to the Congress will not affect its preparations for the upcoming state assembly polls.

"The party has sufficient leaders and our work will continue unhindered," said state party president Jose Philip D'Souza at a press conference, days after one of his predecessors and others joined the Congress.

On Saturday (May 14), top NCP leaders including former state unit chief Nilkanth Halarnkar, senior vice president Trajano D'Mello, vice presidents Salim Sayed and Prakash Kalangutkar and seven other members of the state executive committee joined the Congress.

The NCP in Goa was at the receiving end of a wave for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance in the 2012 state assembly elections which reduced the party's legislative strength to zero.

While NCP leaders like Halarnkar have said that they had joined the Congress to keep "communal forces at bay", D'Souza said he bears no ill-will towards his former party colleagues.

"They have gone to the Congress for better prospects for the future. We bear no ill-will to them," he said.