PANJIM: With the Lok Sabha election results in the State for South Goa seat going in favour of Congress, despite the eight Congress MLAs, who switched loyalties to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nearly two years ago, campaigning for the BJP candidate, the Congress leadership has now demanded the resignation of these ‘turncoat’ MLAs.
The Congress party encountered many defections in the last two Assembly polls with the High Command decided not to readmit and field defectors in future. But the Tuesday’s results is a signal to the eight defectors that changing sides in the name of development had not gone well with the voters, who perhaps were of the opinion that the defection by their MLAs was for the lure of individual gains.
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Nuvem, Calangute and Santa Cruz MLAs, all defectors, could not give lead to the BJP candidate.
The Margao and Mormugao MLAs gave embarrassing wafer thin leads BJPs Pallavi Dempo.
GPCC general secretary Everson Vales said, “If defectors had conscience they should have resigned and sought fresh mandate. Since they do not have conscience people have enlightened them and indicated what they are going to face in 2027 elections.”
Congress Seva Dal Additional Chief, Allwyn Telles said, “Of course they should have resigned and sought re-election. It is a big shame for one defector MLA who has taken all the priests for granted. What development have they done? They have not done anything”
Sant Andre Block Congress president Manoj Palkar said, “If defectors resign and seek re-election then they can prove their point. People did not vote for them to join the BJP. They were elected because they contested on Congress tickets. Let them prove that they did not get elected because of Congress but due to their personal capacity.”
Santa Cruz Block Congress president John Nazareth said, “It clearly shows that people have not accepted defections. The defectors have literally not done any work in their constituencies.”
“The development which they talk about has not been done in their constituencies. People have shown them that they had gone to the BJP due to their self-interest. This is the reason that people have again voted for the Congress. They should resign and seek a fresh mandate. Moreover the Speaker should dispose off the petitions soon,” Nazareth said.
