8 Goa Congress lawmakers set to join BJP today

Eight Goa Congress lawmakers met chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday as they are set to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the latest in a series of defections from the opposition party days after Rahul Gandhi kicked off a 3,700 km-long foot march to revive its flagging electoral fortunes amid internal turmoil.

In July, a split in Congress was averted after rebels failed to get the requisite numbers to switch to the BJP without attracting disqualification proceedings under the anti-defection law. Five lawmakers members refused to join while two others were dithering.

Eight of the 17 Congress lawmakers met Sawant after holding a meeting in the chamber of the Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo in the state assembly. They passed a resolution to “merge” their group with the BJP.

Former chief minister Digambar Kamat and Lobo led the lawmakers as they arrived at the state assembly even as the House is not in session. None of them was available for a comment even as the eight are believed to have begun formalities to convey their voluntary decision to quit the Congress to Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar, who is in Delhi and expected to arrive in Goa later on Wednesday.

The BJP has 20 members in the 40-member state assembly. It is one short of the majority on its own and has the backing of three independent and two Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party legislators.

People aware of the matter said Kamat and Lobo’s efforts to win over more lawmakers continued after July and are believed to have travelled to Delhi to discuss the defection with BJP’s top leadership. Lobo last month visited Delhi and later claimed he was there to take part in the Congress protest against price rise and inflation even though he was not seen there. Kamat too denied reports about travelling to Delhi. But local media published a passenger list that showed Kamat having booked a ticket to Delhi. It was not known whether Kamat actually flew to Delhi.

The Congress’s plea for disqualifying Kamat and Lobo for colluding with the BJP to break the Congress following the attempt to split the party in July is pending with Tawadkar.

Goa has a history of defections and a record of having 13 chief ministers in 12 years between 1989 and 2000. Ten Congress lawmakers defected to the BJP during the previous term of the state assembly. As many as 27 lawmakers quit the parties on whose tickets they were elected on.

Candidates of the Congress and its ally Goa Forward Party, who contested this year’s assembly polls in the state, signed affidavits pledging against switching sides to the BJP after they are elected. The oaths were pronounced in the presence of Rahul Gandhi and also in a temple, church, and mosque.

Congress has over the years lost power in states such as Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka following defections. Former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the party last month blaming the party’s functioning and Rahul Gandhi for demolishing consultative mechanisms. The exit came ahead of the election to elect a new Congress president and Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Azad was the latest in a series of senior leaders, who have left the party. He was a member group of 23 leaders, who wrote to party chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 demanding internal reforms.