Goa CM Pramod Sawant, 8 Congress Turncoat MLAs to Meet PM Modi in Delhi Today

Eight MLAs who ditched the Congress party to join the ruling BJP in Goa are all set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi today. Six of the MLAs arrived in Delhi by flight early this morning accompanied by CM Pramod Sawant and BJP state unit president Sadanand Tanavade. MLAs Michael Lobo and Digambar Kamat, who were out of station, will join the others in the national capital.

Earlier on Wednesday, MLAs Digambar Kamat, Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Rajesh Phaldesai, Sankalp Amonkar, Rudolf Fernandes and Aleixo Sequeira had all jumped ship to join the BJP after passing a resolution in a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party. They were warmed greeted by the Chief Minister who held a meeting with them earlier this week.

CM Sawant greeted the MLAs and hailed their decision to leave the Congress and said, “The Leader of Opposition and other MLAs have joined us because they believe in the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I congratulate them for joining the BJP.”

According to BJP sources, the Congress turncoats are also likely to meet BJP president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during their Delhi visit, reports PTI.

CM Sawant had on Thursday met Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai. The meeting created buzz as it came amid talks of a cabinet reshuffle after eight Congress MLAs joined the ruling BJP. The chief minister however clarified that the meeting had nothing to do with politics.

The Goa cabinet currently has 11 ministers from the BJP, besides Sudin Dhavalikar of the ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. The state can have maximum of 12 ministers.

The BJP retained power in the 40-member Goa Assembly after the elections in March this year. The BJP now has 28 MLAs in the 40-member Assembly, while the Congress’s number has reduced to three.

(With inputs from PTI)

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