After BJP’s ‘largest-party theory’ in Karnataka, Congress stakes claim to govt in Goa, RJD in Bihar

NEW DELHI: A day after Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala invited BJP, the single-largest party, to form a government in the state, two Opposition parties, the Congress and the RJD, are demanding that the governors of Bihar and Goa should invite them to stake claim to the government as they were the single-largest parties in last assembly polls held in these states.
While the Congress announced it will be meeting Goa governor Mridula Sinha to ask him to invite the party to stake claim to the government, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav also asked the Bihar governor Satya Pal Malik to dissolve the assembly and invite his party to form a government in the state.
In Goa’s 2017 assembly election, Congress was the single-largest party with 21 seats in the 40-seat assembly, however, it was the BJP through a post-poll alliance that ended up forming the government, In Bihar, the RJD was the single-largest party with 80 seats in the 243-seat assembly in the 2015 assembly election, but it ended up in the opposition.
According to reports on ANI, Congress’s Goa in-charge Chella Kumar today said he along with more leaders will meet the governor of Goa and ask him to invite his party to form the government. The party is also planning to parade its 17 MLAs at the governor house, according to a source.
Soon after, in an apparent show of unity against the events unfolding in Karnataka, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav followed suit, asking governor Satya Pal Malik to dissolve the Bihar assembly and invite RJD on account of it being the single-largest party in the state.
“We would be holding a one-day dharna tomorrow against the murder of democracy in Karnataka. We also request the Bihar governor to dissolve the state government and like in Karnataka invite the single largest party, which in Bihar is the RJD,” said Tejashwi Yadav.

Yadav also said that he will be meeting the Bihar governor at 1 PM tomorrow.
“How will BJP prove majority? Amit Shah has only one formula, horse-trading or sending agencies like CBI and ED behind MLAs of other parties. It’s dictatorship by BJP,” he said while addressing a press conference.
Yadav said that if not opposed then BJP may try to repeat the Karnataka and Bihar eposide in the upcoming polls in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan
“If we aren’t united today then it was Bihar yesterday, Karnataka today, can be MP or Rajasthan tomorrow,” he added.

In Goa, Congress Legislature Party chief Chandrakant Kavlekar said the party will stake claim tomorrow by submitting to Governor Mridula Sinha a formal letter containing signatures of all the 16 party MLAs. Kavlekar said the Goa governor should follow the precedent set by her Karnataka counterpart and invite the single largest party to form the government “correcting her mistake of March 12, 2017”.

“We have 16 legislators with us and with that strength we are the single largest party in the (Goa) Assembly. The governor should invite us to form the government in Goa as per the precedent set by her Karnataka counterpart, said Kavlekar, the Leader of Opposition in the Goa Assembly.

When pointed out that the Congress needs support of at least 21 legislators to stake the claim, he said that once the governor swears in the Congress chief minister, he will be able to prove his majority on the floor of the House.
“The numbers will have to be proven on the floor of the House and we have that with us,” he said.