Michael Lobo, a Goa minister, has left BJP ahead of the elections.

Michael Lobo, the science and technology minister, resigned as a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly on Monday, just days after resigning as a minister in the BJP-led government of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Pravin Zantye, a BJP Mayem MLA, later resigned as an MLA.

Lobo, a two-term BJP legislator, also resigned from the party's primary membership.

With Lobo's resignation, the BJP's House majority has been reduced to 24 MLAs. He is the party's first minister and third MLA from a minority group to leave. 

If former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar were still alive, Lobo believes he would never have left the party.

"Parrikar was a towering figure. With him, I have a lot of fond recollections. He is no longer present, but he used to sit across the table from me and resolve issues. We also had a number of disagreements with him. He didn't always agree, but he always seemed to comprehend what was going on in our heads "After 15 years in the BJP, Lobo expressed his dissatisfaction with the party.

Namrata Ulman, the legislature's secretary, received Zantye's resignation. On the eve of the 2017 assembly election, he joined the BJP. He ran for the Assembly twice before joining the BJP, once as a Congress candidate and the second as an independent candidate. 

Zantye claimed that he joined the party at Parrikar's request, but that after his death in 2019, the party and local mandal did not support him despite his following all of the party's directions.