Two Goa Congress legislators, Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar, on Tuesday, 16 October, announced that they have shifted their allegiance and joined the BJP, ANI reported.
Speaking to ANI, Subhash Shirodkar said:
“We are joining BJP today. We expect 2-3 more MLAs to come, not today but in the coming days: after meeting BJP President Amit Shah.”
The duo had left for Delhi on Monday, 15 October, amid speculations that they were headed to meet BJP president Amit Shah to join the party, officially.
“Both the Congress MLAs will be resigning from the Congress party on Tuesday and joining the BJP,” a senior BJP leader had told PTI, earlier on in the day.
While Sopte, who defeated former BJP chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar in 2017 state legislative assembly election, represents Mandrem constituency, Shirodkar was elected on a Congress ticket from Shiroda constituency.
Both the legislators had left by a midnight flight to Delhi. Goa Health Minister and BJP MLA Vishwajit Rane also left for Delhi, a little before their departure.
“I am going on a business trip,” Sopte had told reporters at the airport. Similarly, when Shirodkar was asked whether he was joining the BJP, he had responded, “You will come to know, if I do it.”
Goa is currently witnessing hectic political activities with the Congress party petitioning President Ram Nath Kovind, seeking his intervention to ask Goa Governor Mridula Sinha to call them to form the government.
The BJP state core committee and legislature party also met in Panaji during the day.
The meetings are happening at the backdrop of the poor health condition of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is currently being treated by doctors from state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital at his residence at Dona Paula.
When contacted, All India Congress Committee Secretary A Chellakumar had said that he had spoken to both legislators – Sopte and Shirodkar – who had assured him that they were not resigning from the party.
“I spoke to both of them Monday evening and they have refused that they are resigning.”A Chellakumar
Congress currently has 16 MLAs in the Goa Legislative Assembly. With the resignation of the two legislatures, the strength has now come down to 14.
BJP has 14 MLAs with three each from Goa Forward Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Independents. One legislator is from the NCP.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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