Elections 2022: Goa Congress has approached the Supreme Court against defections to BJP in 2019
The Congress's Goa unit has approached the Supreme Court over the defection of its 10 MLAs to the BJP in 2017. The Congress's move came as counting is going in in the Goa assembly elections 2022.
Exit polls have predicted a hung house in the coastal state, with the regional MGP likely to emerge as kingmaker.
In 2017 Goa assembly polls, the Congress had 17 MLAs and BJP 13 MLAs. Then 10 Congress MLAs joined BJP in October 2019.
The Congress's request for disqualification of the MLAs who had defected was rejected by the Speaker as two-thirds of the MLAs had merged with BJP.
The Speaker's decision to reject the Congress's request was also upheld by the Bombay High Court.
Now the Congress has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the high court order.
Though with the new assembly likely to be formed in a day or two, this petition doesn't have any effect. However, the Congress appeared to have gone to the Supreme Court to deter MLAs from defecting after the results are out today.