Goa Govt. collapses,BJP to stake claim

PANAJI, OCT. 21.The 11-month-old Francisco Sardinha coalition Government in Goa was today reduced to a minority, with the BJP withdrawing its support and staking claim to form a new government after nine Congressmen joined the party.

In a dramatic development earlier in the day, all the three BJP Ministers - Messrs Prakash Phadte, Digambar Kamat and Suresh Amonkar - handed over their resignations to the leader of the BJP legislature party, Mr. Manohar Parrikar.

Mr. Parrikar told PTI here tonight that four Congress MLAs - Messrs Ravi Naik, Ramakant Khalap, Sanjay Bandekar and Manohar Ajgaonkar - and five former Congressmen who left the party in August had joined the BJP and communicated their decision to the Speaker, Mr. Pratapsingh Rane. ``The BJP will stake claim to form a new government at a meeting with the Governor, Mr. Mohd Fazal, tomorrow at Raj Bhavan'', Mr. Parrikar said adding ``the decision is subject to clearance by the party high command''.

The BJP, which had 10 MLAs in the 40-member House, would now have an effective strength of 19. The two-member Maharashtra Gomantak Party (MGP) and an independent have also extended support to BJP, taking its support to 22.

The Congress Legislature Party would have six members.

- PTI

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