PANAJI
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won a favourable mandate bagging 20 of the 40 Goa legislative assembly seats when election results were declared on March 10, finally set the ball rolling on government formation and announced it will formally stake claim after electing a leader at a legislature party meeting on Monday evening.
BJP State president Sadanand Tanavade said at a press conference on Sunday that the two Central observers will arrive in Goa on Monday to oversee the process.
He said, the first legislature party meeting will be held at 4 pm in the presence of Central observers besides the Goa election incharge Devendra Fadanavis and desk in-charge C T Ravi.
He, however, added that the swearing-in ceremony will be held any day between March 23 and 25.
On the question of the MGP being part of the government, Tanavade said the Central observers will take the call.
With critical voices growing over the undue and unconventional delay in government formation post the March 10 results, the decision to formally stake claim before Governor PS Shreedharan Pillai came after a post-midnight meeting at Union Home Minister Amit Shah's official residence in Delhi on Saturday-Sunday.
BJP national president, J P Nadda, caretaker chief minister Pramod Sawant and Valpoi MLA Vishwajit Rane were part of the meeting at Shah's residence where the nitty-gritties of government formation were decided.
Tomar and Murugan, meanwhile are expected to hold consultations with the newly elected legislators of the BJP and make the announcement of the new Chief Minister after Monday evening's legislature party meet.
With more than 10 days gone by since results of the February 14 assembly elections propelled it to pole position winning 20 of the 40 seats on March 10, the BJP has come under sharp attack for its candid and unconventional approach in delaying formation of the new government and running the State's governance affairs with a caretaker chief minister.
The Opposition Congress, which won 11 seats and another being by its pre-poll ally Goa Forward Party, slammed the saffron party saying running the State with a caretaker chief minister was depriving the people a fully functional government.
Carlos Fereira, the Congress' newly elected legislator and a former advocate general of the State, termed it a 'Constitutional impasse' and urged the Governor to step in to ensure a government is formed.
He said, a caretaker chief minister cannot continue indefinitely with proving his majority or securing a confidence vote from the Assembly once it is constituted.
For the record, the BJP which had not yet formally staked claim to form the government despite emerging the single largest party just one short of simple majority has dismissed the criticism saying with the new assembly constituted and MLAs having taken oath the technicalities have been fulfilled.
