Hopeful of more votes, opposition is with us, says Goa CM Pramod Sawant on Droupadi Murmu

PANAJI: NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu on Thursday held a meeting with MPs and MLAs, including those of BJP, MGP and independents as part of her election campaign.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant urged opposition MLAs to vote for Murmu. “We are hopeful of getting more votes than expected. The opposition is with us too,” Sawant said.
Murmu also held meeting with three BJP MLAs from Telangana. She arrived in the state on Thursday morning and left for Mumbai after the meeting.
Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar adjourned the House early on Thursday so that legislators could meet the NDA presidential candidate.
Reacting to the opposition’s charge that the House was adjourned to meet Murmu, tourism minister Rohan Khaunte said, “We have not stopped the assembly. After the Question Hour, we went to meet her. If she has come, then it is the responsibility of the MLAs to give her a courtesy call as she is a presidential candidate. The opposition should have issues inside the assembly and not outside.”
BJP state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade said that they will now approach opposition MLAs and urge them to vote for Murmu. “As a party I will speak to the opposition MLAs and as a government the chief minister will speak to them,” Tanavade said.
BJP has 20 MLAs, the support of two MGP MLAs and three independent MLAs and two MPs.
Art and culture minister Govind Gaude said that BJP’s ST wing has created awareness in the rural parts of the state about the NDA’s presidential candidate.