Congress loses single largest party tag in Goa as two MLAs join BJP

PANAJI: In a serious jolt to Congress’s bid to form a government in Goa, two of its MLAs resigned and joined BJP — a development that comes as a boost to the saffron party and deprives Congress of its single-largest-party status in the assembly.

With the resignation of the two MLAs, Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar, Congress’s strength in the 40-member assembly has been reduced to 14, bringing it on a par with BJP.

The MLAs — former BJP functionaries who returned to the fold — said Congress could not settle its leadership issues. “For the past 18 months, Congress, which has four former chief ministers, did not come to an agreement as to who should lead the party and try and form the government. They were not interested in any development,” they said.

With the resignations of Sopte and Shirodkar, the House strength is reduced to 38. While BJP has 14 MLAs, its alliance partners — Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Goa Forward Party (GFP) — have three each, with three independents, too, supporting the government.

The inductions are a relief for BJP, dispelling speculation that the government has become unstable in the wake of chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s long illness and frequent hospitalisation in Mumbai, Delhi and abroad. It will shore up BJP ranks that had been hurt in the last state polls by differences with a section of the RSS with Sangh organiser Subhash Velingkar floating a new party.

The two MLAs joined BJP in Delhi after a meeting with party president Amit Shah. They faxed their resignation letters to Speaker Pramod Sawant, who, after confirming with them over the telephone, accepted the letters. Shirodkar and Sopte rejoined BJP in the presence of Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Shripad Naik, state party president Vinay Tendulkar and health minister Vishwajit Rane in Delhi.

Rane, who played a key role in winning over the MLAs, is a top contender to succeed Parrikar if a decision on his replacement needs to be taken.

The two leaders are seen to be influential, with Sopte having defeated incumbent CM Laxmikant Parsekar in the last assembly polls and Shirodkar being a former president of the Congress state unit.

Top BJP sources said the exodus from Congress may continue with two more MLAs waiting in line to quit and join the party. “We have not been offered anything by BJP. We joined because we want to develop our constituencies and solve the problems of our people,” Shirodkar and Sopte told TOI from Delhi.

Though Congress had staked claim to form the government as the single largest party, sources said the state unit was not interested and was waiting for the disgruntled coalition partners to quit the alliance. Congress’s thinking was that it would benefit the most, considering that the groundswell was against BJP.

But with Shirodkar and Sopte’s resignations, Congress seems to have been taken by surprise. Alleging that BJP was using the Centre’s money to lure its two MLAs, Congress said it was a “murder of democracy” and “insult to the people and democratic institutions”.

“By inducting the two Congress MLAs, BJP has shown that it has no respect for democracy, elections and the mandate of the people,” former chief minister Luizinho Faleiro said.

It wasn’t Congress alone that got a shock. Former CM Laxmikant Parsekar, a core committee member of the BJP state unit and its Mandrem candidate in the last assembly polls, said he was not taken into confidence. “This is a conspiracy by some party leaders. All options are open for me,” Parsekar said.

On Wednesday, representatives of coalition partners — Ramkrishna Dhavalikar of MGP and Vijai Sardesai of GFP — along with Vishwajit Rane are expected to hold discussions with Amit Shah.