It is less than ten days before the results to the elections of the Goa legislative assembly held on February 14 are known. Though Goans would want any single political party to have a majority so that we have a stable government for the next five years, a hung assembly with no party garnering absolute majority seems a distinct possibility. If this scenario becomes a reality, horse trading and party-hopping will be the order of the day. However in all this haze successful independent candidates could also play a vital role in government formation. There is every possibility of a sizeable number of independent candidates ending victorious. Many of those who contested the elections as independents are probably those who have been denied tickets by the parent party. It is learnt that at least five independent candidates are confident of winning the elections. They could reportedly form a group and support the party with the highest number of seats. Be that as it may, the victorious independent candidates, if their number is large, could also end up being 'king-maker' as they could even be in a position to decide who should be the Chief Minister in exchange for their support.
