Former Congress legislator Isidore Fernandes, one of the 10 Goa Congress MLAs who have merged with the BJP, attacked his old party as a divided house in which everyone looks out only for themselves. He made the remarks in Delhi, where he had gone to meet the BJP’s central leadership.

Fernandes’s remarks

Speaking to ANI, Fernandes said, “We wanted to be part of development. BJP is an inclusive party,” before adding that in the Congress everybody was concerned only about themselves.

The defectors and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant were scheduled to meet Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP working president JP Nadda. Sawant told ANI that the legislators had backed him to strengthen the state government and that he welcomed the move. In the Lok Sabha, Congress MP K Suresh gave notice of an adjournment motion on the political situation in Goa.

The split

The ten MLAs broke away from the Congress on Wednesday evening and merged with the BJP. Led by Kavlekar, they met Speaker Patnekar that evening and handed him a letter informing him of their decision. Apart from Kavlekar and Fernandes, the group included Philip Nery Rodrigues, Atanasio Monserratte, Francis Silveira, Jeniffer Monserratte, Wilfred D’Sa, Cleaofacio Dias and Nilkant Halarnkar.

Chief Minister Sawant and Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo were present when the legislators reached the assembly complex. The defections left the Congress with just five members in the House.

Background

In the 2017 Goa assembly election, the Congress won 17 seats and the BJP 13, but the BJP went on to form the government under Manohar Parrikar.

See also: Indian National Congress, Goa MLAs.

Originally published on 11 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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