It may be the New Year but the old problem of shaky governments and unstable coalitions has returned to haunt Goa.

Barely six months into power, the Digamber Kamat Government got its first jolt when in a sudden and unexpected move, the unattached MLA of the United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP), Atanasio Babush Monserrate, and Save Goa Front MLA Reginald Lourenco declared their intention to resign their seats and join the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

While the NCP is in a coalition with the Congress both in the state and at the Centre, the move is being seen as an attempt by the party to check the Alemao and Rane clans’ influence in the Congress government headed by Kamat.

The move also leaves Churchill Alemao of the Save Goa Front in a precarious position as after Lourenco changed sides he remains the only MLA of his party in the Assembly. It is being speculated that the Congress may use this to divest Alemao of the lucrative PWD portfolio.

Incidentally Alemao’s younger brother Joaquim Alemao, whose affiliations lie with the Congress, holds the Urban Development portfolio in the ministry.

Another source of worry for Kamat is Speaker Pratapsingh Rane, who is seen to be angling for the top post. However, his unpopularity in the wake of the SEZ controversy may have put paid to those plans. It was during Rane’s tenure that the SEZs, which now stand scrapped, were approved.

The Rane family also has a stake in the present government —younger son Vishvajit Rane is the Health and Agriculture Minister despite being an Independent supporting the government. Rane’s men head chairmanships of three state corporations.

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