Goa political crisis: How numbers stack up in 40-member assembly?

Panaji, Sep 14: Eight Congress MLAs, including former Goa CM Digambar Kamat and Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo, have joined the BJP after meeting Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at the Assembly Complex on Wednesday. This development has jolted the Congress party immensely as it is now left with just three members in the 40-member Goa Assembly.

The eight MLAs who met with CM Sawant are Digambar Kamat, Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Rajesh Phaldesai, Kedar Naik, Sankalp Amonkar, Aleixo Sequeira and Rudolf Fernandes.

How numbers stack up in Goa Assembly?

With this new development, the numbers have become absolutely lopsided in BJP's favour.

BJP has 20 MLAs, one short of simple majority. It has the support of three independent MLAs and two legislators of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). If the eight Congress leaders join the saffron party, then the ruling party will have 33 members in the assembly, while the grand old party will be reduced to three seats in the 40-member Goa Assembly.

The Aam Aadmi Party has two seats, while Goa Forward Party, an ally of Congress, and Revolutionary Goans Party have one seats each.

In July, the Congress had successfully prevented its MLAs from quitting the party while asking the Speaker to disqualify Kamat and Lobo under the anti-defection law for allegedly conspiring with the BJP to engineer the defection of eight of its 11 MLAs in the state. The Speaker is yet to take a call on the plea.

Also, Lobo, who had switched from BJP to Congress before the polls, was removed as Leader of Opposition by the party.

In a similar move in July 2019, 10 Congress MLAs had switched over to the BJP.