DN&V Correspondent
New Delhi: A day after Uddhav Thackeray swore-in as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut warned of a political realignment in Goa, claiming BJP ally Goa Forward Party is forming an alliance with the Sena in the small coastal state. “At least four MLAs, including those with Goa Forward Party President Vijay Sardesai, are in contact with Shiv Sena,” Raut said. “We are hopeful there could be a miracle in Goa also soon,” he added. Raut said the new political front in Goa could include the Congress.
After the 2017 election, BJP formed the government in Goa despite having fewer seats than the Congress in the 40-member Goa Assembly, by taking the support of the Goa Forward Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and independents. The BJP faced a crisis after the death of Manohar Parrikar, with Congress staking claim to power, but the party, under Parrikar’s successor Pramod Sawant, passed a floor test. Later, BJP won 4 seats in the bypolls to increase the tally to 17 in May 2019, and then engineered the defection of 10 Congress MLAs to strengthen its base.
It is not clear how Shiv Sena could cobble an alliance with the required numbers to form the government. Note: Though Shiv Sena is not represented in the Assembly, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party is often aligned with the party. Eyeing BJP’s former Congress MLAs perhaps?
In Maharashtra, CM Thackeray is likely to face the floor test today (Saturday), say reports. Governor BK Koshyari had given the alliance time till December 3 to prove its majority. Earlier, the Supreme Court rejected a petition against the Sena-NCP-Congress alliance, saying political morality is not the same as constitutional morality and hence parties can break or make a new alliance after polls.
