Sandesh Prabhudesai
19 November 1999
The four-month old Luizinho Faleiro government collapsed today with 11 legislators including four ministers splitting the ruling Congress party under the leadership of health minister Francisco Sardinha.
It also includes deputy speaker Alexio Sequeira, who has resigned from the post. The other three ministers are Dayanand Narvekar, Somnath Zuwarkar and Subhash Shirodkar.
Mapusa MLA Francisco D'Souza, one of the seven legislators, had recently split from the Maharshtrawadi Gomantak Party and Nationalist Congress party recently to strenghten hands of Faleiro.
The other MLAs who have split are Mauvin Godinho, Victoria Fernandes, Arecio D'Souza, Francis Silveira and Bandu Desai.
The dissidents have formed a group called Congress (Francisco Sardinha group) are likely to stake claim to form alternate government, with the support of 10-member BJP opposition and the one-member NCP.
The BJP is also planning to participate in the government this time instead of supporting from outside, like the last time when Dr Wilfred de Souza had toppled Pratapsing Rane's government.
Splinter group leader Sardinha, who is tipped to the chief minister of the coalition government, as well as Manohar Parrikar (BJP), the opposition leader, met the governor seperately. Dr de Souza was also accompanying Sardinha.
With the split, the Congress party got reduced to mere 14 in the 40-member House. Faleiro had strenghtened it by splitting at least five members from three different parties to save his government, while also expanding the cabinet.
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