Congress writes to Goa guv, again lays claim to form govt

PANAJI: Congress staked claim to form the government once again following CM Manohar Parrikar's death on Sunday. With BJP's strength in the assembly down to 12 MLAs, the Congress delegation submitted a fresh letter to governor Mridula Sinha to form the government.

The letter, signed by opposition leader Chandrakant Kavlekar, was submitted to Sinha's office Sunday evening. Congress also sought an appointment with Sinha to justify its claim to form the government. "The coalition parties of the Parrikar-led government had allied with BJP on the condition that the government is headed by Parrikar," said leader of opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar in the letter to Sinha. "BJP, therefore, has no allies as of now."

On a night filled with hectic political manoeuvring, Congress MLAs went into a huddle at Kavlekar's residence in Panaji amid attempts to cobble the numbers. While strong speculation suggested Margao MLA Digambar Kamat was set to resign and join BJP, he remained cloistered with the Congress camp. After reaching Dabolim airport on Sunday evening from Delhi, Kamat said his visit was finalised three days ago and has got nothing to do with rumours of him becoming CM.