Nitin Gadkari; A Sleepless Night and BJP Government In Goa

Rodrigues’ resignation comes a day after Congress Goa MLA Vishwajit Rane quit saying he was disillusioned with the party.

The Congress party forced an adjournment of Rajya Sabha proceedings on Friday over the conduct of Goa’s governor, who invited the BJP to form the government in the state after reportedly consulting finance minister Arun Jaitley.

The 45-year-old Rane had defied the party whip during the crucial floor test in the Goa Assembly yesterday, jolting the Congress, which came one down from the 17 votes it had against the government, when he absented himself.

It was a call from BJP chief Amit Shah to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on March 11 evening which set off a flurry of activities that culminated in the party mobilising support of a motley group of MLAs who had contested against it and won. The hope that the BJP had briefly generated by refusing to stake claim after the BMC election despite an impressive performance withered away very quickly with its majority-at-any cost machinations in Manipur.

He has led to a vertical split of the Congress in the state.

Before the floor test began, Rane told reporters that the delay caused by the Congress leadership in staking claim to form the government had demoralized the people of Goa.

BJP had won 13 seats, Goa Forward Party, which won the assembly polls vowing to drive BJP out of the state, three while MGP won 3 seats.

“Senior party leaders are holding a meeting on Saturday morning to look at all the possible options”, said Pratap Singh Bajwa, a senior Congress leader from Punjab.

Parrikar was sworn in on 14 March along with eight other ministers. Disallowing the Congress members from raising the issue, the Deputy Chairman said, “No”. In fact, they say that the mandate in Goa was overwhelmingly against the BJP.

“The message for the Congress (post Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh polls) is clear, respect everyone and expect everyone. We are not going to back-stab him”, Sardesai said.

Mr Singh told NDTV when asked if he too -like party leaders have been offering to do in other states – would take responsibility for the Congress’ failure to get the numbers to form the government in the state under his charge.

The self goal scored by the Congress party in Goa, eventually paved the way for the Bharatiya Janata Party to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the scenic coastal state, famous for its handsome beaches and feni.