The recent defections in the Goa Congress have effectively made the ruling BJP government of the state an opposition-less dispensation. On one hand, the defections are seen as the end of the Congress in the Goa legislature and on the other hand, questions are being asked about why the BJP was required to engineer such defection in the opposition.


The strength of the BJP in the Goa assembly is well beyond the majority mark and there was no threat to CM Pramod Sawant. Now it turns out that Congress had to bear the toll of the BJP’s internal power equations.


In the forty-seat Goa Vidhan Sabha, the BJP has 20 seats. With the MGP and independents, Pramod Sawant’s government is secure with the support of 25 MLAs.


On the other hand, the Congress which emerged as the biggest opposition party with 11 MLAs, is now left only with 3 MLAs after the defections.


It has been reported that the defections were engineered by CM Pramod Sawant himself. It is strongly believed by political pundits that Sawant did this to pre-empt any move to topple his government.


Vishwajit Rane, a minister in Sawant’s cabinet, is seen as his political rival. After quitting the Congress in 2017, Rane joined the BJP and was inducted into late Manohar Parrikar’s cabinet. After Parrikar’s demise, the BJP chose Sawant as the Chief Minister for the rest of the tenure.


Everybody in the political circles of Goa is aware of Vishwajit Rane’s ambitions. He was a health minister in the last cabinet and won the election from the Valpoi constituency with a good margin. His wife Deviya Rane also got elected as an MLA on a BJP ticket from Poriem. Son of former CM Pratapsingh Rane, Vishwajit is an influential name in the Goa BJP. His unamiable relationship with CM Pramod Sawant has been often noticed in Goa’s political corridors.


After winning the election, Vishawajit Rane and his wife published front-page advertisements in the prominent newspapers of Goa thanking their respective voters. The advertisements carried pictures of various party leaders such as Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda and Devendra Fadnavis, but there was no Pramod Sawant.


Deviya even told media persons that Vishawajit is a worthy contender for the CM post because he is an “experienced politician over the last 15 years”, though she clarified that the final decision will be taken by the party's high command. 


Rane is seen as having clout over a considerable number of the BJP MLAs and political experts don’t rule out the possibility of him rebelling against Sawant in the future.


In case that happens, Sawant is required to keep adequate numbers handy to save the government and hence the defections in Congress. The reshuffle in the Goa cabinet is likely next week.


Some ministers will be shunted out and a few newly inducted faces from the Congress would be sworn in as ministers.