Ex-Goa CM Parsekar upset over Cong MLA’s entry in BJP, says he was not taken into confidence

Having served as the chief minister of the state from November 2014 to March 2017, Parsekar was defeated by Sopte from Mandrem seat in the assembly elections held last year. He said there was no reason for Sopte to switch over to the BJP, “as the party-led alliance government has been implementing the developmental works in Mandrem constituency”.

READ | Two Congress MLAs resign in Goa; party strength down to 14

“Developmental works proposed by Sopte were approved by chief minister Manohar Parrikar. He (Sopte) had himself said that the BJP never gave him any step-motherly treatment for being a Congress MLA,” he said.

On whether he would campaign for Sopte in the upcoming bye-election in Mandrem constituency, Parsekar said, “it is between me and the party and I don’t want to speak about it in public”.

Meanwhile, the Congress said it will continue its efforts to form an alternate government in Goa. “It is not a setback for the Congress. We may have been reduced by two numbers, but our efforts to form the state government will continue,” Goa Congress spokesperson Nilkant Halarnkar told PTI. He said his party MLAs remain united and ruled out any possibility of any of them switching sides. “They (the BJP) have taken two of our MLAs and we will get four from their camp,” he said, refusing to disclose which MLAs are ready to shift allegiance to the Congress.

At a time when the political situation in the coastal state has become volatile against the backdrop of CM Manohar Parrikar’s health, the resignation of Sopte and Shirodkar is seen as a major setback to the opposition Congress in Goa. With today’s development, the Congress party’s strength has come down from 16 to 14 in the 40-member house and thereby ceases to be the largest opposition party in the state. It also brought down the strength of the House to 38 from 40.

With PTI inputs

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