Amid Congress' attempt to form government, Amit Shah to meet Goa BJP leaders

Amid Congress' desperate attempt to form the government with the support of over 21 legislators in the 40-member assembly in Goa, BJP Chief Amit Shah will meet the party leaders to formulate strategies in order to avoid any untoward incident in the state.

The Opposition Congress staked claim to power in the state, days after Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi with a pancreatic ailment.

Shah's visit to Goa was decided after several BJP allies, in a dramatic twist, rejected a plan to have minister Sudhin Dhavalikar take charge as deputy Chief Minister in the state. In wake of this political tension in the coastal state, the BJP chief contacted Goa Forward's Vijay Sardesai, a minister in the BJP-led government.

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The reason behind putting Dhavalikar out of the order is hidden behind a 2014 incident when the minister had sparked off a controversy with his comment that bikinis should be banned on Goa's beaches.

The political tension in Goa worsens further with Urban Development Minister Francis D'Souza and Power Minister Pandurang Madkaikar been unwell for the last few months.

In the 40-member Goa assembly, the Congress is the largest party with 16 seats and the BJP has 14.

"We have the required numbers. I am not going to tell you whom we are in discussions with, but we need the support of 21 MLAs and we have more than that," Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar was quoted by PTI as saying.

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After the 2017 Goa assembly elections, the BJP forged an alliance with the Goa Forward Party, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and three independents and formed the government, throwing the Congress out of the power in the state.