Goa Assembly Elections: BJP Minister and Four-Time MLA Filipe Nery Rodrigues Quits

Goa Assembly Elections 2022: On Thursday, BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) MLA Filipe Nery Rodrigues, who is the Water Resources Development Minister has resigned.

Filipe becomes the sixth sitting BJP MLA and the third Cabinet Minister to quit from the ruling BJP government ahead of the election.

MR. Nery is expected to join the Shard Pawar-led NCP (Nationalist Congress Party), which is contesting the Goa upcoming elections with the Shiv Sena alliance.

Nery was denied the Velim ticket in the first list of 34 candidates announced by the BJP. At the time of BJP’s first list, his colleague in the cabinet – Goa Public Works Department Minister Deepak Pauskar – had exited the party after being dropped for the Sanvordem constituency. The BJP has fielded ex-MLA Ganesh Gaonkar in the place of Mr. Pauskar.

Last week, another BJP sitting legislator of Nuvem constituency Wilfred D’sa had bid adieu to the party.

Earlier this month, the saffron party’s most prominent Catholic face Michael Lobo had exited the party to join the Congress.

In December month, two BJP MLAs Alina Saldanha and Carlos Almeida had resigned to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress respectively.

Other notable leaders who left the BJP after the announcement of lists are former CM Laxmikant Parsekar and Utpal Parrikar, son of the BJP stalwart Manohar Parrikar.

Both Mr. Parsekar and Mr. Utpal Parrikar will be contesting as Independent candidates from the Mandrem and Panaji Assembly constituencies respectively.