Have support, will form government in Goa: BJP

The BJP will stake claim to form the government in Goa as it has got letters of support from the MGP, which has three MLAs, and two Independent legislators, a party leader said on Sunday.

"We are forming the government. We have received letters of support from the MGP and from two Independent legislators," Bharatiya Janata Party spokesman Pramod Sawant told reporters here.

The BJP, which won 13 seats in the February 4 election, needs the support of eight legislators to hit the simple majority mark of 21.

Sawant also said that BJP leaders were in touch with another regional party, Goa Forward, which also has three MLAs in the 40-member assembly.

While the Congress (17) and BJP have accounted for a bulk of the seats, both parties are wooing smaller parties to form a coalition government.

A Nationalist Congress Party legislator and three Independents make up the rest.