Frustrated BJP workers openly supporting Congress in Goa - Girish Chodankar

Several BJP workers, frustrated and angry with some of the "immoral decisions" of the ruling party, are openly supporting the Congress, the opposition party's Goa unit chief and Lok Sabha candidate Girish Chodankar claimed Friday. Chodankar is pitted against Union AYUSH minister Shripad Naik in the North Goa Lok Sabha seat, the latter having held the seat since 1999.

Addressing a press conference here, Chodankar claimed there was an "anti-BJP" wave in Goa which would help the Congress win the North Goa and South Goa Lok Sabha seats as well as the three Assembly bypolls in Shiroda, Mandrem and Mapusa. "Several BJP workers have openly extended support to me and Congress South Goa Lok Sabha candidate Francisco Sardinha. The message among people is clear. They want the BJP to be defeated as it has attacked democracy. Its workers are frustrated and angry at the BJP's immoral decisions," he said.

The Congress has routinely attacked the BJP for cobbling together a coalition government in Goa despite getting just 13 seats in the 40-member Assembly against the Congress' 17 in the 2017 state polls. Recently, the BJP managed to get two Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLAs to join it. Last October, two Congress MLAs - Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte had quit the House and the party and joined the BJP. "The Congress will win all five seats," he said. When contacted, Goa BJP chief Vinay Tendulkar rubbished Chodankar's statement. "The Congress is staring at defeat in the two Lok Sabha and three Assembly seats. That is why they are making such irrelevant statements," Tendulkar said.

(With inputs from agencies.)