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Former chief minister Francisco Sardinha joined the Congress on Thursday, after splitting from the party two years ago, to rule Goa along with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
"All like-minded people should come together to end the communal rule of the BJP in Goa," he said, after staging a homecoming along with his defector colleague Mauvin Godinho and office-bearers.
Dayanand Narvekar, another colleague who was deputy chief minister in his short-lived coalition government, did not join the Congress.
Being president of the Goa Cricket Association, he is busy with the one-day cricket match to be played in Goa on Friday.
But Sardinha, while expressing ignorance over Narvekar not joining the party, announced that he had merged the Goan People's Congress into the Congress unconditionally.
Sardinha, along with 10 party colleagues, including four ministers, had split the then ruling Congress within four months, forming a coalition with the 10-member BJP in the 40-member House.
It lasted for 11 months as nine members (first five and then four in three months), including then Opposition leader Ravi Naik (deputy chief minister today) split from the Opposition Congress to join the BJP.
The saffron party then withdrew support to the Sardinha Government to form its own government in October last year.
Four more from Sardinha's GPC also split later, with two joining the BJP, while one joined the Congress. Meanwhile, another four GPC men split to join the Congress, following which Sardinha and Godinho have also now joined the Opposition party.
This leaves Narvekar, Arecio D'Souza and Suresh Parulekar - all Congress defectors -- still out of the party, but divided into three one-member factions. The Congress, on the other hand, has swollen to 13, against 20 ruling BJP members.
Sardinha, who had revolted against then chief minister Luizinho Faleiro's alleged dictatorial attitude, now claims that there were no more differences. Faleiro continues to be CLP leader and Opposition leader.
This is a clear indication that the Congress is slowly getting its partymen back into the fold. However, the BJP Government can fall only if it succeeds in getting eight more, including former Congressmen holding ministerial positions in the BJP Government today.
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