Amid speculation that eight Congress MLAs would join the BJP, which led to heavy drama in Goa on Sunday, BJP sources said the event was due to internal squabbles within the Congress and not because of “rumours” of defection.
Asked about the possibility of Congress MLAs joining the BJP, Goa BJP President Sadanand Tanawade also said that he was not aware of any Congress MLA joining the BJP. “No one has even reached CM Pramod Sawant’s house. No one has contacted us yet,” Tanawade said.
However, the unrest in Congress has given rise to a “rumour mill” with Alla. India Congress Committee (AICC) Goa in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao supported the alleged reports that eight MLAs have sided with the ruling BJP.
Who is sending the feelers?
While Dinesh Gundu Rao, who was sacked as Leader of Opposition on Sunday, accused Michel Lobo and former Goa CM and Congress MLA Digambar Kamat of “conspiracy” with BJP leaders to engineer defections, the BJP says Unaware, Rao alleged that the BJP was behind the alleged attempt to poach Congress MLAs.
Rao had accused Lobo and Kamat of trying to weaken the Congress with the help of the BJP by engineering defections in Goa, while the BJP maintains that it is an internal strife within the Congress that is openly spreading and No defections needed.
Digambar Kamat told News18 that Rao met her on Saturday night at her residence, where he told her that he was “hurt” and that he was still a Congress MLA.
“I told Rao last night that I was hurt. They (central team) come to Blue Moon once and they do things like that and then go back. He asked me to come to Delhi and I said that I am not interested in coming to Delhi.
The senior Congress leader also said that it spreads “rumours” of defection every 15 days and that there may be some discussion among Congress MLAs as the BJP continues to feel. The Congress has 11 MLAs in the Assembly and would need eight to prevent itself from being disqualified under the anti-defection law.
But are Congress MLAs thinking of defection? “I would not know because I am not a CLP leader. I am just an ordinary Congress MLA. All I can say is that I am in Congress. Even at the time when many MLAs left the Congress, I remained with the Congress,” Kamat said.
Congress sources said there is a general feeling of despair as the party has been out of power for so many years.
Asked if he is willing to join the BJP, a Congress MLA told News18, “At present, I am with the Congress. Who knows about the future. ,
Shortage of two-thirds of the MLAs, resign and contest elections again?
Sources in the Congress and BJP also spoke of another option that could not gather two-thirds of the strength required to defect to the disgruntled MLAs.
“There is another option to resign and contest again and I am sure some of them will be re-elected,” said a BJP source.
However, the BJP is treading cautiously while ensuring that it has a majority in the 40-member Assembly and has not approached any Congress MLA to join the party.
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