Inspired by Karnataka, Opposition leaders meet Governors in Bihar, Goa and Manipur, stake claim to form government

NEW DELHI: Possibly inspired by the fast-paced political developments in Karnataka, the opposition leaders in Goa, Bihar and Manipur on Friday met the Governor of their respective states and demanded a change of guard.

According to reports, a delegation of Congress leaders met the Governor of Goa and staked claim to form a government in the state.

13 Congress leaders, led by Goa in-charge Chella Kumar, met Governor Mridula Sinha and staked claim to form the government.

In a memorandum submitted to the Governor, the delegation claimed that Congress is the single largest party in the state.

The Congress Goa in-charge had earlier claimed that if given a chance they can prove their majority in the assembly within seven-day.

"We request the Governor to give us seven-day and we will prove the majority on the floor. We are meeting governor to stake claim to form a government in Goa as the Congress is single largest party hence we should get an opportunity to form a government like in Karnataka," Chella Kumar said.

Goa Congress spokesperson, Yatish Naik, confirmed the same and asserted that being the single largest party in the state, they would request the Goa Governor to give them a chance.

"We are going to tell her that since her counterpart in Karnataka has called the single largest party, she should also call us now. We are the single largest party, will prove majority on the floor of the House," Naik said.    

Similarly, a delegation led by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and comprising members from Congress and CPI-ML meet Governor Satyapal Malik and staked claim to form government in Bihar.

Patna: Tejashwi Yadav and other alliance leaders met Bihar Governor Satyapal Malik, hand over letters stating that RJD is the single largest party and hence should be invited to form Government pic.twitter.com/K24yHxu3nH — ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2018

RJD and other alliance parties also submitted letters to Governor Satyapal Malik stating that the RJD is the single largest party hence it should be invited to form Government in the state.

RJD and other alliance parties-Congress and CPI(ML) hand over letters to Governor Satyapal Malik stating that RJD is the single largest party hence should be invited to form Government pic.twitter.com/NdTSuvBsB0 — ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2018

Speaking to media later, Tejashwi Yadav said that people of Bihar are fed up with Nitish (Kumar) uncle who has formed the government from the backdoor.

He claimed that if given a chance by the Governor, his party will comfortably prove majority on the floor of the House.

''If we are given a chance, we can easily clear the floor test. We have a total of 111 MLAs and some unhappy JD(U) MLAs are in contact with us. We don't have MLAs in our party or alliance who will take u-turn like Nitish Kumar,'' Tejashwi Yadav, RJD, told reporters.

If we are given a chance, we can easily clear the floor test. We have a total of 111 MLAs and some unhappy JD(U) MLAs are in contact with us. We don't have MLAs in our party or alliance who will take u-turn like Nitish Kumar: Tejashwi Yadav, RJD pic.twitter.com/0kihMawxz8 — ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2018

In a related development, a Congress party delegation met Manipur Acting Governor Jagdish Mukhi and staked claim to form government in the state.

The delegation claimed that Congress was the single largest party in this northeastern state, so it should be given a chance to prove majority in the state assembly.

The developments came after Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R Vala invited the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the single-largest party, to form a government in the state.

Amid high drama, Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala had invited the BJP (104 seats) leader BS Yeddyurappa to form government in the state following a fractured verdict thrown by the state's electorate after the May 12 polls.

The Congress-Janata Dal-Secular combine challenged the Governor's decision in the top court, which on Friday ordered a floor test at 4 pm on Saturday (May 19).

(With ANI inputs)