Delay in Govt. formation and the opportunity it throws up: What’s up, Goa?
MLAs cutting across parties want us to form Govt in Goa, says Congress
Post-poll Goa is again under the limelight. This time around it is the delay in government formation in the state that is being discussed threadbare. And, at the centre of it is the Congress party, which has raised issues against the Bharatiya Janata Party’s slow-steps towards government formation.
The Congress unit in Goa has accused the BJP of delaying the government formation. Further, in a bid to make its stance clear on the issue, the party has also said that a bunch of MLAs from other parties had been pushing the party to form the government in the state.
Going by what Goa CM and senior Congress legislator Digambar Kamat has stated, the BJP seems to have problems within the organisation and that could be why the event is being deliberately delayed. The election results had come out a week ago and Kamat feels that the BJP’s claim that it has 20-plus elected representatives on its side is malicious, false, and misleading.
Explain delay in Goa, Congress tells BJP
He has also called upon the saffron outfit in Goa to explain why it is delaying the formation of government. According to Kamat, the BJP should admit on public space that it is unable to form the government.
Having said all that, the Congress has looked at the option before it now. The goal is to form a non-BJP government in Goa, and it looks forward to uphold the verdict of the Assembly polls by roping in support for itself to form the government in the state. By stating that the party is open to all options, Kamat has extended a hand to MLAs from other parties who are still undecided on whose side they should be.
Whether the Congress will be able to dodge all hassles to form the government in Goa is a tricky question. When Kamat says that various MLAs cutting across party folds are seeking a Congress decision so that they can be of help if the party decides on leading the team to form the government, it seems like a little bit of confidence has dawned on the party. The Congress party has called upon all non-BJP MLAs to take wise steps to give the people of Goa a full-fledged and a democratically elected government. Kamat has also said that non-BJP MLAs need to understand that the BJP, with 20 MLAs, is just half way and the number doesn’t make it a party with majority.
Counting the numbers
However, the BJP might have other plans. With Holi celebrations now over, the saffron outfit is likely to speed up its measures meant towards government formation in the state. The BJP would not want to let go off the opportunity, as a few MLAs from other parties who have already pledged allegiance, and it wouldn’t want them to have a rethink. Also, it wouldn’t want to give in the Congress allegation of infighting within the BJP, in a state that has given it a good number of seats.
The BJP had won 20, out of the 40 seats in Goa legislative assembly, and was supposed to form the government with three independents and two MLAs from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) cosying up to its side. Meanwhile, the Congress party bagged 11 seats, while its ally Goa Forward Party and Revolutionary Goans Party won one seat each. AAP and MGP have two seats each. Three went to independent candidates, and among them is former Congress MLA Aleixo Lourenco.
The tussle has begun. Going by history, no party would want to let go of any opportunity that arises. BJP still holds the key. But then, let’s wait and watch.
