New Delhi: Former Goa minister and BJP leader Michael Lobo along with his wife Delilah Lobo joined the Congress in Panaji on Tuesday.
The developments come a day after Michael Lobo resigned from both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Assembly on Monday.
Michael Lobo represented the Calangute assembly constituency and held the charge of the state port and waste management departments in the Goa cabinet.
Former Goa BJP Minister Michael Lobo along with his wife Delilah Lobo joined Congress party in Panaji today pic.twitter.com/ARySUobz8Z
— ANI (@ANI) 11 January 2022
Talking to reporters, Michael Lobo had said that people are dissatisfied with the ruling BJP in the coastal state.
“Voters told me that the BJP is no longer a party of the common people. The grassroot level workers are feeling neglected by the party,” PTI quoted Lobo as saying.
Read | Goa Minister Michael Lobo, MLA Quits BJP; CM says ‘some defections’ won’t affect party
On Monday, BJP MLA Pravin Zante, who represented Mayem assembly constituency, also quit the saffron party. All four BJP legislators have resigned in the past month – Lobo, Zante, Carlos Almeida and former Forest Minister Alina Saldanha.
Reacting to the resignation, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Twitter that “some defections” will not hinder the BJP’s agenda of good governance.
Sawant tweeted, “Bharatiya Janata Party is one big family that keeps serving the motherland with full devotion! Greed and some defections to fulfill the agenda of private interests, can’t stop our agenda of good governance.”
He further said, “The people of Goa have seen the governance and development model of the BJP for a decade and I am sure they will give us one more term in their service. Jai Hind, Jai Goa.”
Earlier in the day, Govind Gowde, an independent legislator and the state’s art and culture minister, resigned as an MLA and said he would join the BJP, PTI reported.
Voting for all 40 assembly seats in Goa will be held on February 14. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
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