Panaji, May 23 (IANS): With the BJP winning three out of the four Assembly bypolls, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant can now breathe a sigh of relief, with the victories taking the ruling party's tally to 17 in the 40-member assembly, leaving the Congress behind at 15 legislators.
The four bypolls in Panaji, Mapusa, Mandrem and Shiroda, were being projected by the main opposition party, the Congress, as the gateway to power in the state, claiming it would win sufficient seats to initiate a toppling bid.
"The Congress will be in a position to form a government on May 23," Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar had said.
But with the BJP winning the Mandrem, Mapusa and Shiroda assembly bypolls, the victory is a shot in the arm for the Chief Minister, who claims his government is even more stable now.
"My government has become even stronger now with these wins," Sawant told reporters after the results were announced.
The BJP, which was tied at 14 MLAs with the Congress in the assembly, now becomes the single largest party with 17 MLAs and has the support of the three-member Goa Forward party and three Independent MLAs, which takes the tally of the treasury benches to 23 legislators.
According to political analyst and former MLA Radharao Gracias, the BJP-led coalition government is now "mathematically" stable.
"To add to the mathematical stability, there is the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre," Gracias said.
And signs are that BJP's local allies, like Goa Forward who have blown hot and cold against the majority alliance partner in the past, already appear to have fallen in line, especially with the mammoth victory projected for the Modi-Shah combination.
"As partners in the NDA, I congratulate you on your personal victory and your party's. May this historic win pave the way for even closer partnership between our parties in the state and help take Goa Forward," Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai, of the coalition ally said soon after the vote counting trends suggested a big win for the NDA.