Will win 24-26 seats, CM will be chosen in half an hour, says Goa Cong chief

Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar on Wednesday said his party would choose a chief minister within half an hour if it wins the Assembly polls, results of which will be announced on March 10. In an exclusive interview with PTI, Chodankar said the Congress and allies will win 24-26 seats in the 40-member House, polling for which was held on February 14.

"I can assure you that within half an hour, all the MLAs of Congress will decide their leader. We will also take our alliance partners into confidence. The entire Goa knows who is the Congress' choice for CM," he said, possibly hinting at senior leader Digambar Kamat.

"I will not name anyone right now as it is the right of MLAs to choose their leader," he added.

The Congress had emerged as the largest party in the 2013 Assembly polls but the BJP managed to form a government will allies, following which several MLAs from the Congress switched over to the ruling side.

Chodankar said there were no defection fears this time as the Congress had chosen candidates after proper scrutiny.