A change of leadership in the ruling Goa BJP seems imminent with leaders of coalition partners the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Goa Forward Party (GFP) scheduled to meet BJP national president Amit Shah on Wednesday.

In the new political situation emerging after the resignations of two Congress MLAs, the BJP is in a pole position and no longer bound by the diktats of the allies.

Earlier attempts to select an alternative leadership was stymied by squabbling allies with the MGP claiming that its leader Sudin Dhavalikar should be handed the baton since he is the senior-most leader.

The MGP, aware of its weakened position, has now softened its stand.

“It was a demand we had made at that time. Now the situation has changed. Let them discuss. We will wait and watch,” MGP president Deepak Dhavalikar told HT.

Responding to the fact that the BJP can achieve a simple majority in the 38-member house without the support of the MGP, Deepak said that it was not “true democracy”.

“In a democracy, one has to have a simple majority of the house. The house strength is of 40. The two MLAs who have resigned could lose their elections, then what will be the value of a trust vote that is held on a 38-member house?” Dhavalikar asked.

GFP party leader Vijai Sardesai said it was incumbent on the ruling BJP to choose an alternate leader and said his party was committed to stability of the government.

“Let them (BJP) choose a leader. We may be asked to give fresh letters of support, which should not be too much of a problem,” Sardesai said adding that the current situation was “not ideal”.

The two coalition partners which had made Manohar Parrikar’s leadership conditional to them supporting the BJP led government now appeared to have climbed down from their respective positions.

Former Congressman and current health minister Vishwajit Rane is the frontrunner to succeed chief minister Manohar Parrikar should he decide to resign as chief minister. Rane, who was instrumental in wooing the two Congress legislators over to the BJP, has positioned himself as the pre-eminent candidate within the BJP.

First Published: Oct 17, 2018 13:01 IST