Panaji, July 10: In another setback for the Congress, 10 out of its 15 legislators of Goa resigned on Wednesday. MLAs led by the leader of opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar met the speaker of the 40-member Goa Assembly Rajesh Patnekar in their bid to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  They gave him a letter informing their split from the Congress. Karnataka Political Chaos: BJP Demonstrates Outside Vidhana Soudha, Demands Kumaraswamy's Resignation.

The MLAs include who resigned include Atanasio Monserratte, Jeniffer Monserratte, Francis Silveira, Philip Nery Rodrigues, Cleaofacio Dias, Wilfred DSa, Nilkant Halarnkar and Isidor Fernandes.  Speaking to media, Kavlekaar said, "If no development is done how will people choose us next time? They (Congress) couldn't fulfill the promises they made. There were several opportunities to form govt but due to lack of unity among some senior leaders, it could never be done. So we did this."

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After the entire political drama, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant reached the Assembly and met the legislators. He then welcomed them into the BJP. Goa Assembly Bypoll Results 2019: Congress Wins Panaji, BJP Bags Mapusa Vidhan Sabha Seat.

With the 10 Congress MLAs joining the saffron party, the total strength of the BJP has risen to 27, while the strength of the grand old party reduced to five in the assembly. The BJP also has a support of three MLAs of the Goa Forward Party and three independents. The Nationalist Congress Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party have one MLA each. Pramod Sawant Sworn-in as Goa Chief Minister, Hours After Manohar Parrikar's Cremation.

Meanwhile, the Congress-Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) alliance government in Karnataka is also struggling to survive. The only relief for the alliance government in the state is that the Speaker held the resignations of nine out of 15 rebel MLAs and stated that they are not in order. At present, the total strength of the alliance has reduced to 103, while the BJP has 105 members in the assembly.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 10, 2019 09:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).