Turn Of The Tide

The BJP now has a comfortable majority in the assembly, but all is not well in the party

- Dnyanesh Jathar

HAS GOA CHIEF Minister Pramod Sawant bitten off more than he can chew? The defection of 10 Congress legislators to the BJP might have given the saffron party a comfortable majority in the assembly, but it has also shocked the core BJP supporters as well as the people of the state. And it is bound to create pressure groups within the BJP, which Sawant may find difficult to deal with in the days ahead.

The defection has brought down the Congress tally in the 40-member assembly to five and the BJP’s has gone up to 27. Soon after securing the majority, Sawant dropped four ministers from his cabinet—Vijai Sardesai, Vinoda Paliencar and Jayesh Salgaonkar of the Goa Forward Party, and the independent member Rohan Khaunte. He inducted Chandrakant Kavlekar (who was the leader of the opposition), Michael Lobo, Filipe Nery Rodrigues and Jennifer Monserrate to the cabinet; Kavlekar was made deputy chief minister.

Ironically, it was on May 23, when Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate won the byelection in the Panjim constituency on a Congress ticket that the plot was hatched. Babush is learnt to have discussed with BJP legislator Lobo the possibility of bringing over five Congress legislators. Lobo discussed the idea with Satish Dhond, organisation general secretary of the BJP in Goa. “It was our mistake to nominate Babush from Panjim,” said Goa Congress president Girish Chodankar. “He has changed parties several times. The BJP exploited this group’s greed and lust for power and money.”