With the speculation rising in political circles in Goa that the State Legislative Assembly may be kept in suspended animation in view of the political crisis, Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Chandrakant Kavlekar rushed to the Raj Bhavan on Monday afternoon to stake claim to form a government.
In the meantime, Goa BJP president Vinay Tendulkar said the swearing-in ceremony of new Chief Minister will take place in the Raj Bhavan at 3.30 pm on Monday.
Congress has 14 MLAs in the 36-member State Legislative Assembly, while the BJP has 12.
Mr. Kavlekar admitted that Governor Mridula Sinha had not given the Congress delegation an appointment despite repeated requests and that the Congress “rightfully deserved to be called for staking a claim because it is the single largest party in the State legislative assembly.”
“We do not have an appointment, because she is refusing to give us time. But despite that, we have arrived here to meet the Governor to stake our claim. It is our right as a single largest party,” Mr. Kavlekar told presspersons outside the Raj Bhavan gates.
Following the death of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday a political crisis has developed with the BJP-led coalition still unable to have consensus among allies over the name of the leader to succeed Mr. Parrikar.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has been camping in Goa since Sunday late night trying to form an alliance with members of the earlier coalition.
While the negotiations appear to have dead-locked, a former minister from allies told The Hindu on request of anonymity that the BJP is pressing for Speaker Pramod Sawant as its chief ministerial candidate but allies have not endorsed the name. The former minister expressed surprise over the news of swearing-in ceremony later in the day.