Newly-elected Goa Assembly members take oath

The BJP emerged as a single largest political party in Goa by winning 20 seats, one short of the majority mark

Thirty nine newly-elected members of the Goa Assembly took oath on Tuesday during the session convened by Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai. Earlier, the governor had administered the oath to another MLA Ganesh Gaonkar as pro-tem Speaker on Monday.

Elections to the 40-member Goa Assembly were held on February 14 and the results were declared last week. On Tuesday, Gaonkar administered the oath to 39 elected members of the House. The MLAs took the oath in language of their choice – Konkani, Marathi or English.

The BJP has emerged as a single largest political party in Goa by winning 20 seats, one short of the majority mark, but it is yet to stake claim to form government. Talking to reporters outside the Assembly, senior Congress leader Digambar Kamat claimed this was the first time in the history of the state that the MLAs were sworn in without a government in place.

Earlier, before the oath ceremony, two MLAs reached the Assembly building on two-wheelers. Revolutionary Goans party leader Viresh Borkar, who won the election from St Andre Assembly seat in South Goa district, came riding pillion on a motorcycle with his mentor and his party head Manoj Parab.

Borkar is the first MLA of the Revolutionary Goans party to be elected to the House. It is the youngest political party in Goa, formed six months before the state elections. Besides, Antonio Vas, who won as an independent from Cortalim Assembly seat in South Goa, arrived in the Assembly building on a scooter. Vas said he preferred riding the two-wheeler to avoid traffic jam on the Zuari river bridge and reached the Assembly on time.

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