Following reports of the BJP scouting for a new leader in Goa, the Congress party in the state has staked claim to form a government. The Goa Congress, along with its 14 MLAs, submitted a letter to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha on Monday and sought a meeting with her.
The Congress is the single largest party in Goa with 16 MLAs, while the BJP along with its alliance partners—the Goa Forward Party (GFP) and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP)—has 20 seats in total.
The Congress move comes in the backdrop of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's indisposition. All India Congress Committee secretary A. Chellakumar had on Saturday appealed to all legislators in Goa, cutting across party lines, to take a stand for the sake of the state. "Our stand is very clear. We will definitely explore all possibilities, but that does not mean that we will do it by compromising the ideology or the interest of Goans," Chellakumar, who is also Goa in-charge of the party, had said on Saturday.
"We are not in a hurry to capture power by compromising the interest of the people of Goa. The Congress is accountable to the people," he said. "All our MLAs are together. We are watching what is going on in the ruling camp. The internal bickering has already started. The cabinet ministers have started throwing stones at each other," he said.
Goa BJP president Vinay Tendulkar said it was “foolish” on the part of the Congress to stake claim to form the government as the coalition government in the state was “100% stable”.
Over the past few months, Parrikar was seen visiting the US repeatedly for medical treatments. Currently, Parrikar, 62, who is suffering from a pancreatic ailment, has been admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi for treatment.
Following this, BJP president Amit Shah had on Sunday sent three senior members of the party—B.L. Santhosh, Ram Lal and Vinay Puranik—to Goa to meet the party leaders and allies in the coastal state. However, the BJP has quashed reports that said the party's leadership in Goa was headed for a rejig.
It is in this context that the Congress has now moved its cards in Goa. Notably, the BJP, despite winning only in 14 seats in the 2017 election, had formed the government in Goa in a photo finish, baffling the Congress. Parrikar, who was the Union defence minister, had resigned to take over as the chief minister of Goa.
(With inputs from Dnyanesh Jathar)
