After parrikar end political drift in goa

After parrikar end political drift in goa

In Manohar Parrikar’s untimely death, the national polity has lost a senior and able leader, not just Goa, the state he hails from and presided over as chief minister. But it leaves Goa in political uncertainty that it needs to emerge from at the earliest, without waiting for the results of the three bypolls scheduled for April 23 to be announced on May 23. The current House has a strength of 37 and a new government should be formed from that House. The governor should convene the House and ask it to elect a leader, who should then be invited to form the government.

The BJP will naturally seek to form the next government, having been the ruling party till yesterday. However, its strength is depleted to 12 and its claim to enjoy the continued support of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) would be called into question, given the party has declared that it would contest the coming bypolls against the BJP. The Congress, which had emerged the largest party in the 2017 assembly elections with 17 MLAs in the Goa House of 40, lost three MLAs to defections, leaving its 14 MLAs still the single-largest contingent. It has staked claim to form the government already. If the governor calls either party to form the next government, the governor’s intervention would play a role in government formation, over and above the will of the people. This can be avoided by convening the House and asking it to elect a leader.

Striking of alliances, wheeling and dealing and the practice of other subtle arts that go into government formation will still take place. But the majority would be tested where the Supreme Court ruled it should be, in the SR Bommai case — the floor of the House, and not in the governor’s chambers or her favours. And that is how it ought to be.