Insta
BJP President Amit Shah (Pradeep Gaur/Mint via Getty Images)
Two Congress legislators from Goa - Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte on Tuesday (16 October) announced that they would be joining the BJP following a meeting with party president Amit Shah in Delhi. They claimed that two-three MLAs are likely to do the same in the coming days.
“We are joining BJP today. We expect two to three more MLAs to come, not today but in the coming days” said Subhash Shirodkar, as reported by Deccan Chronicle.
This, comes as a welcome sign for the BJP as it strives to keep the alliance and its government in Goa intact, while Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar suffers from a pancreatic ailment.
The two legislators resigned as members of the state assembly after their meeting with the BJP President and also left for Delhi on Monday (15 October).
"I am going on a business trip," Sopte had told reporters at the airport. When Shirodkar was asked whether he was joining the BJP, he responded, "You will come to know, if I do it".
BJP Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar was defeated by Sopte during the 2017 Goa Assembly elections.
The Secretary of All India Congress Committee A Chellakumar said that he had spoken to both the legislators and they assured him that they were not resigning from the party.
Currently the Congress has 16 MLAs in the Goa assembly. Their strength will go down to 14 following the resignation. BJP has 14 MLAs while three each belong to the Goa Forward Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and independents. One legislator is from the NCP.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest