8 Goa Congress MLAs could join the BJP

Barely a couple of months since Congress was thought to have dodged a defection attempt, 8 out of its 11 MLAs in the Goa assembly will be dumping Congress to join the ruling party BJP. They reportedly spoke with both Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha. According to news agency PTI, state BJP chief Sadanand Shet Tanavade has stated that the MLAs are joining the party.

Being that the legislature is not in session, the MLAs’ meeting with the speaker is unusual. According to sources, the agenda has not yet been made clear. Eight MLAs can avoid being barred from office under the anti-defection law if they split out as a group, which equals two-thirds of the party strength.

There were rumours that at least six Congress legislators, including prominent figures Digambar Kamat and Michael Lobo, would switch parties and join the BJP in July. Congress then requested that Mr Kamat and Mr Lobo be disqualified in accordance with the anti-defection law.

At the time, Congress was able to retain at least seven of its MLAs, while the other MLAs did not make a final decision. Along with Mr Lobo and Mr Kamat, the other four that failed to appear at a crucial party meeting included Kedar Naik and Delilah Lobo, Mr Lobo’s wife. As Leader of the Opposition, Michael Lobo was removed by Congress. Just before the elections earlier this year, he left the BJP for the Congress.

Senior leader Mukul Wasnik was appointed by the party’s interim president Sonia Gandhi to handle the crisis. It appears that he has averted the crisis.