Technocrat-turned-politician Manohar Parrikar is all set to become chief minister of Goa for the third time after the Bharatiya Janata Party- Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party combine lapped up 24 seats to rule the 40-member house.
The alliance, which is contesting in all 35 out of the 40 seats in the Goa assembly has announced Sudin Dhavalikar as their chief ministerial face.
'The BJP has proved that it is a threat to all its allies'
The vote share of the Congress, which won 11 assembly seats in Goa this time, plunged by nearly five per cent as compared to what it was in the previous election, while the BJP, which retained power in the coastal state, saw a marginal rise in it, the data shared by the Election Commission shows.
Earlier, BJP leader Ram Lal said the Goa government is stable and no demand has been made for a change in the leadership.
The government is functioning 'very well' and all the alliance partners are firmly supporting Parrikar, who is undergoing treatment at Delhi's AIIMS, the BJP leader asserted.
Parrikar has been admitted to the AIIMS for follow-up treatment reportedly for a pancreatic ailment.
The BJP is certain that the TMC will divide the Opposition votes, leaving it free to cruise through the polls.
The discussions on the new Goa CM came to a halt after Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Sudin Dhavalikar wanted to be the chief minister.
With just over a month to go for assembly elections in Goa, political observers feel the Congress may upset the Bharatiya Janata Party's plans for retaining power in the coastal state, but appear less enthused about the Trinamool Congress, whose entry has added colour to the poll campaign.
It is a record that the saffron party has created, where the majority of its legislators belonged to the minority community.
BJP leaders and allies, who met Parrikar separately, ruled out any change in leadership in the state.
"By next week, the government will work out the exact arrangement through which the work burden on Parrikar could be reduced," he said.
The two would-be Dy CMs are Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Sudin Dhavalikar.
The Congress legislators, led by Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar, demanded that the governor should summon one-day session of the assembly for a floor test.
The two parties, however, are in a neck-and-neck race in Manipur and Goa.
Parrikar returned to Goa as the chief minister for the fourth time, though he could not complete full terms in his earlier stints.
The Congress, which is the single-largest party with 16 MLAs, has already staked claim to form the government in the coastal state.
A potpourri of political parties are in the fray in Goa.
"The people of Goa demand that we should send Parrikar back to the state," Shah said.
'Parrikar is living for Modi and Shah, not for his motherland or Goa'
BJP claimed close to 116 lawmakers from rival parties appeared to have voted for Kovind.
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