POST POLL COALITION GOVTS - ASSEMBLY ELECTION - 2017

Thursday, 16-3-2017, PANAJI AND IMPHAL

Congress' petition against the BJP being invited to form government

in Goa despite winning fewer seats in the assembly elections was heard
and the Supreme Court said, "You never mentioned you had support
before Governor or in this petition." The court did not stop Manohar
Parrikar's oath ceremony as Goa C. M. Questioning the Congress, the top
court said, "You could have brought affidavits of MLAs supporting you. You
didn't do that," adding that "inviting single largest party is subject to
numbers."

In parliament, the opposition party has sought to debate the BJP

being invited to form government in Goa and Manipur despite coming
second to the Congress in the assembly elections.

In election results announced on Saturday, the Congress won 17

seats and the BJP was second with 13. Both were short of 21, the
minimum number of seats needed in the 40-member Goa assembly to form
government.

The BJP moved swiftly to secure the support of regional parties

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party or MGP and Goa Forward and some
Independent legislators and had by Sunday evening met the Governor to
stake claim. The new allies had one condition - the BJP's Manohar Parrikar
should be Chief Minister.

Along with Parrikar, Governor Mridula Sinha administered oath of

office to nine ministers at a simple ceremony attended by BJP president

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Amit Shah and union ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Nitin Gadkari and JP
Nadda.

Other than Parrikar, the BJP will have only two members, Francis
DSouza and Pandurang Madkaikar, in the council of minister.

Three ministers -- Vijai Sardesai, Vinod Palienkar and Jayesh

Salgaonkar are from the Goa Forward Party. Two of the three
Maharashtrawdi Gomantak Party MLAs, Sudin Dhavalikar and Manohar
Azgaonkar, too, made the cut with Independent legislators Govind Gawde
and Rohan Khaunte.

Governor Sinha invited the BJP, which says it now has the backing of
22 MLAs, to form government. Mr. Parrikar said on Monday that he had
resigned as Defence Minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet to
return to his home state and to the post he held before he was called to
Delhi.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar sailed through the trust vote in
the 40-seat assembly on Thursday with 22 votes in his favour. After being
sworn in Chief Minister, Mr. Parrikar has proved that he has majority
support in the Goa assembly. Within six months he will have to be elected
to the state legislature. A newly elected legislator will have to vacate a seat
for that.

Allies outnumber the BJP in Manohar Parrikars council of ministers in Goa.

Former Defence Minister Parrikar took oath as the chief minister of Goa for
the fourth time on Tuesday after the BJP cobbled up a coalition with two
regional parties and some Independent MLAs.

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 Reaction of Congress Party:

Panaji: Congress leaders have welcomed the Supreme Court's order

for a trust vote in Goa within 48 hours. The party's lawyer and senior
leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said it was important that the court heard
the Congress petition "patiently on a holiday" and that "the Governor's
decision has been interfered with."

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi alleged that the BJP has used
"money power" to annex power in Goa. He accused the party of "misusing
the governor's post."

The court did not accept the Congress' plea to stop Mr. Parrikar from
taking oath this evening. The Congress has won 17 seats, the BJP has
won 13 but moved fast to secure the support of smaller parties. A party
must have the support of 21 MLAs in the 40-member assembly to form
government. On Thursday, he proved that he has majority support.

The Congress informed the Court that it too has 21 and should have been
consulted by the Governor as the largest party before she invited the BJP.

If you had the numbers, you would have held a dharana (protest) at the
Governor's house," the Supreme Court said today, adding that the
Congress' petition to the court or the Governor does not provide proof of
the majority support that it claims it has. The BJP has given the governor
letters of support from its new allies.

"I am grateful the court heard us. I believe the Governor's decision has
been interfered with," Mr. Singhvi said.

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Rahul Gandhi about U P result:

New Delhi: After his party won just seven of a total of 403 seats in Uttar
Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi, who starred in the campaign and directed strategy
along with sister Priyanka, described the result "as a little down".

The 46-year-old's appraisal is vastly at odds with senior party leaders who
are acknowledging the verdict of India's politically most strategic state as a
debacle and asking for urgent "introspection."

Mr. Gandhi said, that "in opposition, you have ups and downs. We had a
little down in UP, we accept it." While faulting the BJP for running what he
described as a polarising campaign in Uttar Pradesh, he acknowledged,
"(but) the fact is they won the election. However, they did it, they won the
election."

For UP Elections Rahul Gandhi directed strategy along with sister

Priyanka. Since 2014, when the Congress promoted Mr. Rahul Gandhi to
its top-billed campaigner, the party has yielded one state after another,
failing to discuss a much-needed regeneration. The party, which orbits the
Gandhi family and has no inhibitions about saying so, won Punjab, though
its success there is attributed largely to the innovative campaign of 75-year-
old Captain Amarinder Singh, who will take oath as Chief Minister on
Thursday, returning the Congress to power in the state after 10 years.

The Congress placed first in Goa and Manipur, but did not win a
majority. Even though it is wishing to beat the BJP to form the government
in both states, its efforts to collect essential support from smaller regional
parties have been lethargic.

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 However, the Congress claims that the BJP is being given unfair
preference, and that as the second-largest party, it should not have been
invited to form the government in Goa. The Supreme Court did not seem to
agree.

Today, its judges said that the Congress has failed to offer evidence
that it has the majority support of newly-elected legislators in Goa; a trust
vote for the BJP Manohar Parrikar as Goa's Chief Minister has been
ordered for Thursday.

Manipur:

N Biren Singh the 56-year-old leader of the BJP was named as its
chief ministerial candidate.

While neither of the parties in Manipur had a majority in the polls, the
BJP could manage to get majority through forming a coalition and showed
a majority that made it eligible to form government. Also, the BJP, despite
winning fewer seats, at 36.3 per cent had scored a slightly higher share of
votes than the Congress at 35.1 per cent.

On Tuesday, the Governor gave the invitation letter to the BJP leader
in Imphal. The first BJP led government in Manipur will be sworn in on
Wednesday (15 March) as it has cobbled together a post poll alliance. On
the floor of the assembly, it has to show its majority support.

There were five state elections, two of them were won by the BJP
and one by the Congress, and in two of the states where no one had
majority, It has been alleged by the Congress that democracy has been
undermined by the BJP, using either financial power, money or influencing

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by promising ministries. The indefinite mandate of the people of Goa and of
the people of Manipur has been cornered by the BJP.

Results on Uttar Uttara Punjab Manipur Goa

11-12 March. Pradesh khand
1 BJP 312 56 3 21 13
2 CONGRESS 7 11 77 28 17
3 BSP/AAP 19 20 (AAP) 4 (NPF) 3 (MGP)
(BSP)
4 SP 47 15 (SAD) 1 (NCP)
5 OTHERS 18 3 2 7 6
TOTAL SEATS 403 70 117 60 40
WHO NEARLY BJP BJP CONGRESS BJP- BJP-
WON COALITION COALITION

When a hung assembly results after an election, putting together a coalition

makes the way to form a democratic government that is acceptable to give
a functioning government by the elected representatives of the people.

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