BELAGAVI: The defection of five to eight MLAs of the Congress party to the BJP in Goa seems imminent sooner than later given the way political developments unfolded in the coastal state in the last two days.
After five Congress MLAs headed by former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat met Goa CM Pramod Sawant on Sunday, the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee submitted a petition to the Goa Assembly Speaker on Monday for disqualification of Kamat and MLA Michael Lobo, accusing them of hatching a conspiracy to join the BJP.
In a desperate attempt to straighten up things, the Goa Congress handed over a letter to the Goa Assembly Speaker stating that MLA Michael Lobo has been removed as the leader of the Congress Legislative Party and also sought the disqualification of Lobo and Kamat.
Meanwhile, the AICC has rushed Member of Parliament Mukul Wasnik to Goa to name a new CLP leader on Monday afternoon but Kamat and Lobo continued to assert that they are with the Congress and never conspired to switch to the BJP.
Sources said the group of five BJP MLAs including Kamat and Lobo was trying to get 2/3rd of party MLAs to switch to the BJP even as six of the 11 Congress MLAs in the state were unlikely to quit the Congress. The breakaway group of five MLAs lacked the required numbers to avoid action under the anti-defection law, leaving it unclear how they plan to carry forward their split, sources said adding that the defection of at least eight legislators of the Congress to the BJP would take place, but not immediately.
On Monday, Goa Congress President Amit Patkar, Deputy CLP leader Sankalp Amonkar, Working President and MLA Yuri Alemao, Altone D'Costa, advocate Carlos Alvares Ferreira, Rajesh Faldessai and Rudolf Fernandes met Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker urging him to change seating arrangements in the House as per the CLP resolution removing Michael Lobo as the CLP leader.
A political analyst from Goa Kishore Naik Gaonkar said, "The first attempt by a group of Congress MLAs to switch to the BJP has failed and that the BJP would not take the risk of trying another round of "operation'' to rope in the rival party MLAs so soon. However, I am sure that five to eight of the Congress MLAs in Goa will switch to the BJP given their body language today. The defection of five to eight MLAs of the Congress to the BJP will happen any moment,'' said Gaonkar.
senior party leader P Chidambaram on Monday urged the people of the state to teach defectors a lesson by not electing them ever again.
He said Goans should "take charge of democracy" and eliminate this ugly stain of defections once and for all.
Chidambaram said in the last assembly elections in Goa, the people voted the BJP to form government and voted the Congress to sit in the Opposition.
"The Congress accepted the verdict of the people.
Why is the BJP unable to accept the people's mandate," he asked in a series of tweets.
"It is because it is in the nature of BJP to arrogate to itself all powers.
Because it is in the nature of BJP to trample on democratic norms," he alleged.
The senior Congress leader said Goa is not the first instance and unless the people wake up to the danger, it will not be the last instance.
"The malaise that has gripped Goa in the last 30 years can be eradicated only if the people of Goa vow to eliminate this ugly stain once and for all," the former Union minister said.
"Goans must resolve to punish a defector and resolve to never elect him or her again. Never elect a defector again," he said.
Chidambaram said Goans cannot leave democracy to the good sense of the political parties.
"Goans must take charge of democracy in Goa".
He said his impression was that Goans made that resolve in May 2022.
"When the time comes, I am sure the people of Goa will express themselves loud and clear," he said.
Chidambaram was senior observer for the 2022 Goa assembly polls, and ahead of elections he got all those given Congress tickets to take a pledge that they would not defect to any other party, if they are elected.
The Congress is now facing a split in the Goa unit with some of its MLAs going incommunicado.
The grand old party appears to have averted a possible split in its legislative wing in Goa for the time being as it claimed the support of seven of the 11 party MLAs in the BJP-ruled state which saw assembly polls just four months ago.
A day after five out of the 11 MLAs went incommunicado, Goa Congress chief Amit Patkar said the number of MLAs with the party has risen to seven -- two more than the Sunday's count -- and the party has also sought disqualification of a couple of legislators.
These 'out of reach' MLAs attended the monsoon session of the state assembly which began on Monday and claimed there was "nothing wrong" in the opposition party.
(With PTI Inputs)