PANAJI: Rajya Sabha (RS) member Shantaram Naik of the Congress party, whose term of office is due to expire on July 28, on Sunday said that the Congress party contesting the lone Rajya Sabha seat, would be no less than a formality of a political party, as the political parties like Goa Forward Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party are committed to BJP, and Congress would struggle and lag behind to get the magic number, hence, he did not apply to re-contest the election.
“We don’t have majority in the House and as independent MLAs and other two parties have aligned with BJP, there is no sense in me contesting. Therefore, I did not apply,” said Naik while speaking to this daily in a telephonic conversation. Election for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the state is scheduled to be held on June 8.
Naik said that since two seats have fallen vacant in the state assembly after two MLAs, Sidharth Kuncalienker and Vishwajit Rane, resigned, in order to win the RS seat the Congress party now requires to obtain the support of 20 MLAs and Congress has 16 MLAs. He said even if NCP MLA from Benaulim Churchill Alemao is pulled on the side of Congress party, the number can go up by just one vote and there will be still a gap of three MLAs.
“If one year had passed with the current coalition government, then we could have expected something out of the dissatisfaction of the BJP’s alliance partners and Congress would have surfaced, but right now I don’t see any possibility of Congress winning the RS seat,” he said.
“I have been there for two terms of RS and that is sufficient for me. Others who are interested, they may not win. Others who are applying to contest the election must be having knowledge about these figures, but otherwise also it is our duty to contest,” he said.