22 MLAs pledged their support to the Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government.
Goa holds swearing-in for its MLAs.
Rahul Gandhi accuses BJP of ‘stealing’ governments in Manipur, Goa
Congress MLA Vishwajit Rane backs his party
“Digvijaya’s claims that they (Congress) have numbers have been debunked,” Parrikar said.
22 MLAs pledged their support to Manohar Parrikar-led BJP in Goa assembly. Among them are 13 BJP MLAs, three MLAs from Goa Forward Party, three MLAs from MGP and three Independent candidates.
The Congress, which bagged 17 seats in the Goa Assembly, fell short of four seats. Following a rift within the Congress, Vishwajit Rane accused the Congress leaders of being sluggish and failing to form a majority despite winning a larger share of seats in the election. He walked out of the Assembly after Congress lost the floor test.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has accused the BJP of forming government through dishonest means. He said:
#WATCH: BJP has used money to win power in Manipur and Goa, they stole Governments, says Congress VP Rahul Gandhi in Chandigarh pic.twitter.com/XIffdr0lEH
— ANI (@ANI_news) March 16, 2017
The Goa Assembly session is currently underway. The MLAs are being sworn-in before holding the floor test.
Vishwajit Rane, who had blamed the Congress leadership’s “slow decision making” for the party’s failure to form the government, expressed his support for the party on Thursday.
Also Read: Renuka Chowdhury Wants Digvijaya Singh Sacked, Angered by Goa Loss
After Congress failed to prove majority, Rane said that he had written to Rahul Gandhi about his reservations.
Also Read: No Horse-Trading, Congress MLAs Want to Join BJP: Goa CM Parrikar
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar reaches the state assembly, ahead of the floor test at the special session today.
After the declaration of Goa Assembly election results, the Congress and the BJP clashed over government formation in Goa.
The Congress accused the BJP of "stealing" the mandate of people using money power. The Shiv Sena attacked the BJP’s move to form government in alliance with smaller parties, terming it as a "murder of democracy".
In a setback to opposition, the SC refused to stay the swearing in of BJP leader Manohar Parrikar as the chief minister of Goa and ordered a floor test on 16 March. Parrikar was sworn-in as Goa CM on 14 March.
The Assembly Elections in Goa threw up a hung assembly, with the Congress emerging the largest party with 17 seats. The BJP won 13, while the GFP, the MGP and Independent candidates won three seats each. The NCP won one, while the AAP walked away empty handed.
The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and the Goa Forward party announced their support to the BJP, after which Parrikar said that another independent MLA had backed the coalition. With this, the BJP claims to have the support of 22, more than the halfway mark in the 40-member House.
“We have the numbers to form the government. We have more than 21 MLAs with us with the support of alliance partners,” Goa BJP unit General Secretary Sadanand Tanawade told reporters.