2 Goa Congress legislators leave for Delhi; may join BJP
Panaji, Oct 15 : Two Goa Congress legislators Dayanand Sopte and Subhash Shirodkar Monday midnight left for Delhi amidst speculations that they may join the BJP.
A senior BJP leader said they were likely to meet BJP president Amit Shah in the national capital.
"Both the Congress MLAs will be resigning from Congress party on Tuesday and joining the BJP," a senior BJP leader told PTI.
While Sopte, who defeated former BJP chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar in 2017 State legislative assembly election, represents Mandrem constituency, Shirodkar was elected on a Congress ticket from Shiroda constituency.
Both the legislators left by a midnight flight to Delhi. Goa Health Minister and BJP MLA Vishwajit Rane also left for Delhi, little before their departure.
"I am going on a business trip," Sopte told reporters at the airport.
Similarly, when Shirodkar was asked whether he was joining the BJP, he responded, "You will come to know, if I do it".
Goa is currently witnessing hectic political activities with Congress party petitioning President Ram Nath Kovind, seeking his intervention to ask Goa Governor Mridula Sinha to call them to form the government.
BJP state core committee and party's legislature party also met in Panaji during the day.
The meetings are happening at the backdrop of poor health condition of Chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who is currently being treated by doctors from state-run Goa Medical College and Hospital at his residence at Dona Paula.
When contacted, All India Congress Committee Secretary A Chellakumar said he had spoken to both the legislators Sopte and Shirodkar who had assured him that they were not resigning from the party.
"I spoke to both of them Monday evening and they have refused that they are resigning," he said.
Congress currently has 16 MLAs in the Goa Legislative Assembly. Their strength would be reduced to 14 if two legislators resign.
BJP is having 14 MLAs while three each are from Goa Forward Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Independents. One legislator is from the NCP.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
