Last Updated: September 14, 2022, 11:39 AM IST
The eight legislators were seen in a meeting with Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday, in visuals accessed by CNN-News18 (Image: News18)
There were reports in July that at least six Congress MLAs, including top leaders Digambar Kamat and Michael Lobo, were planning to join the BJP
Eight Congress MLAs from Goa are set to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, state BJP chief Sadanand Shet Tanavade told PTI on Wednesday. In the 40-member Goa Assembly, the Congress has 11 legislators and the BJP has 20. In a similar move in July 2019, 10 Congress MLAs had switched over to the BJP.
The eight legislators were seen in a meeting with Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday, in visuals accessed by CNN-News18. Sources said a Congress legislature meeting took place earlier in the day, where eight out of the total 11 Congress MLAs passed a resolution to merge the Goa INC party into the BJP.
The legislators set to join BJP are:
-Draw Kamat
-Michael Lobo
– Delilah Lobo
-Rajesh Phaldesai
-Kedar Naik
– Sankalp Amonkar
-Aleixo Sequeira
-Rudolf Fernandes
There were reports in July that at least six Congress MLAs, including top leaders Digambar Kamat and Michael Lobo, were planning to join the BJP. The Congress then requested that Kamat and Lobo be disqualified under the anti-defection law.
At the time, the Congress managed to retain at least seven of its MLAs, while the others made no final move. Kedar Naik and Delilah Lobo, Lobo’s wife, were among the four who did not attend a key party meeting at the time, in addition to Lobo and Kamat. Michael Lobo was removed as Leader of the Opposition by the Congress. He switched from the BJP to the Congress party just before the elections this year.
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