A day after Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar died, the state is again headed to political uncertainty with the opposition Congress party on Monday rushing its MLAs to the governor's house to stake claim to form government. Fourteen Congress MLAs reached the Raj Bhavan and met Governor Mridula Sinha.
Parrikar, who had been suffering from pancreatic cancer, breathed his last on Sunday evening at his private residence in Dona Paula.
After the demise of Parrikar and BJP MLA Francis D'Souza and the resignation of two Congress MLAs, the strength of the house has reduced to 36. The Congress is the single largest party in the state assembly with 14 MLAs while the BJP has 12 members.
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After the last assembly elections, the BJP managed to form the government with the support of three MLAs each of the Goa Forward Party, the MGP and an Independent and the lone NCP legislator. However, all these parties had made it clear that they would support only a government led by Parrikar.
If Governor Mridula Sinha was not convinced that the numbers and names added up, she could recommend that the assembly be placed in suspended animation until the Lok Sabha elections, reported The Indian Express quoting sources from both the Congress and the BJP.
The report also said that there were apprehensions in the Congress that the BJP might try to impose President's Rule in the state.
Meanwhile, the BJP-led alliance in Goa did not reach a consensus over the next chief minister in deliberations early on Monday. Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, who arrived in Panaji, could not secure a consensus between the saffron party and its alliance partners.