Jolt to BJP ahead of Goa Assembly polls as its only Catholic face, Minister Michael Lobo, resigns

Michael Lobo is likely to join the Congress; Lobo is the third minority MLA to quit the BJP ahead of the polls 

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Mumbai: Ahead of the March 10, Goa assembly elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday suffered a major setback as its Calangute MLA and Minister Michael Lobo quit the saffron party’s as well as from the cabinet of Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant.

Lobo, the prominent Catholic face quit the saffron party and resigned from his legislative and ministerial posts. Sources disclosed that Michael Lobo who was the Minister for Ports and Waste Management in Dr Pramod Sawant’s cabinet is likely to join the Congress later today.  A two-time MLA from Calangute, Lobo has been vocal in his criticism of the BJP led government by Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant. 

Speaking after resigning his primary membership from the BJP, the ex-Minister said he would never have quit had the late Manohar Parrikar (late BJP CM) been alive, while alleging that the current BJP leadership was sidelining grass-roots loyalists like himself while giving priority to ‘outsiders’ who had been recently inducted into the party fold. 

Stating that late Manohar Parrikar was a very tall leader, Michael Lobo said despite differences the late Chief Minister had, he always was open to ideas and respected the thoughts of those who expressed different opinions.  

After tendering his resignation, he said “On the one hand, I feel very sad for leaving a party with which I have been associated for the last 15 years… If the BJP does not want a worker like me, there is no point in me staying there to be humiliated. No one (in the BJP) seems bothered with the issues I wish to highlight. So, rather than the BJP throwing me out, it is best that I exit gracefully.”

Lobo added that he was upset with the way in which he and his followers were being treated by the current BJP leadership.  

In a sarcastic jibe aimed at Lobo, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant remarked “A few defections, to fulfil the agenda of greed and personal interests, cannot deter the BJP’s agenda of good governance.” 

Michael Lobo is the third minority MLA and first BJP Minister to quit ahead of the assembly polls. According to observers, Michael Lobo’s exit is in line with the BJP’s strategy of consolidating the Hindu majority vote block while sidelining the Catholic Christian minorities away. 

Last month, two minority BJP MLAs, Alina Saldanha and Carlos Almeida had quit the BJP and joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress respectively. 

Alina Saldanha, the MLA from Cortalim who had served as a minister in the Manohar Parrikar-led cabinet, had resigned citing “loss of principles” within the BJP and criticising the saffron party for pursuing “destructive, anti-people policies” and for creating “instability” in Goa. 

Carlos Almeida, a two-time MLA from the Vasco da Gama assembly constituency in South Goa, was sulking after his suggestions to the BJP’s top brass to continue with late Manohar Parrikar’s policy of giving adequate representation to minorities was not taken seriously. 

According to an analyst who wished not to be named, Michael Lobo’s exit could pose a problem for the BJP’s chances in the Bardez sub-district, where the saffron party has four MLAs. Besides his own constituency of Calangute, Michael Lobo also has considerable influence in the neighbouring areas of Saligaon, Siolim and Mapusa, added the analyst. 

On Sunday, Michael Lobo was seen campaigning for Kedar Naik, the probable Congress candidate from Saligaon. Last month, his wife, Delilah Lobo, had kick-started her own campaign in the Siolim constituency (north Goa) even as the BJP was considering former Minister Dayanand Mandrekar as its candidate for the Siolim assembly seat.