MLA Praveen Zante is the son of former state education minister and Congress MP Harish Zantya.
Goa:
The BJP in Goa has seen two exits today as it gears up for the state assembly elections on February 14. MLA Praveen Zante quits ruling party Hours after Goa minister Michael Lobo quits BJP Stating that it is “no longer the Aam Aadmi’s party”.
Praveen Zante is the fourth MLA to break away from the party ahead of the state elections. BJP now has 23 MLAs in the 40-member strong house.
Mr Zante, who represents the Mam constituency, had earlier quit the Congress after being denied a ticket for the 2012 assembly elections. He had joined the BJP before the 2017 state elections. The legislator is the son of Harish Prabhu Zante, who was the state’s education minister and Congress MP from North Goa from 1991 to 1996 and MLA from MAM from 2002 to 2007. Harish Zante passed away last year.
Pravin Zante will join the Sudhin Dhavalikar-led regional party Maharrashtrian Gomantak Party or MGP.
MGP has forged an alliance with Trinamool Congress in Goa for the upcoming state assembly elections.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had earlier in the day rubbished allegations against the BJP by Mr Lobo, while announcing his exit, tweeting: “Some defections driven by greed” will not harm the party at all.
Bharatiya Janata Party is one big family which keeps serving the motherland with full devotion! Some defections to fulfill the agenda of greed and personal interests cannot stop our agenda of good governance. 1/2
— Dr. Pramod Sawant (@DrPramodPSawant) 10 January 2022
State Ports and Waste Management Minister Michael Lobo is likely to attend Congress. He is considered the most prominent Catholic face of the state and is said to have dominated at least half a dozen constituencies. Mr. Lobo’s departure could impact the BJP in Goa’s Bardez taluka, which has six assembly seats, including his own constituency, Calangute.
Christians constitute a quarter of Goa’s population, and the BJP has recently seen three Christian leaders exit the party. Last month, two BJP MLAs Alina Saldanha and Carlos Almeida quit the party. The BJP is said to stick to its strategy of uniting the majority Hindu electorate while bypassing other communities.
Lobo has openly criticized his party in recent months, repeatedly remarking that the BJP is no longer the party that former chief minister Manohar Parrikar had created. She also had a public spat with Pramod Sawant, who took charge after Manohar Parrikar’s death in 2019.
Voting for the new assembly will be held in Goa on February 14. Election results in Goa and four other states will be declared on March 10.
BJP, Congress, Goa Forward Party (GFP), Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Trinamool Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are the major contesting parties in Goa.
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