Government and Politics in Goa

The Government and politics in Goa became operational after the state attained its liberation from its Portuguese colonizers and became a part of India. The Government and Politics of the state of Goa operates mainly from the capital of the state of Goa – Panaji. However, though Panaji is the official political base Porvorim takes over as the state’s legislative base. Porvorim also happens to be the place which houses the Goa assembly. However, the highest judicial seat of the state of Goa is located outside the state, in Mumbai. Yet though all judicial transactions and decisions are delivered from and by the Bombay High Court, there is a representative panel from the High Court in Panaji. The legislature of the state of Goa is unicameral in nature– meaning that it has only one house, the Legislative Assembly. As in every other state in India, the Legislative Assembly in Goa operates under the leadership of the Chief Minister of the state. The Government and Politics in Goa is chiefly operated from the capital Panaji – it is also the administrative capital of Goa. The Government and Politics in Goa has its legislative capital in Porvorim. Porvorim is the seat of the Goa assembly. The state's judicial capital, however, is beyond the state borders in Mumbai. All judicial transactions fall under the Bombay High Court. A bench of the High Court is present in Panaji. Goa contributes two seats to the Lok Sabha and one to the Rajya Sabha, in India's bicameral parliament. Goa has a unicameral legislature and has forty members in the Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Assembly is headed by a Chief Minister who wields the executive power. The ruling government consists of the party or coalition garnering the most seats in the state elections and enjoying the support of a simple majority of the House. The governor is appointed by the President of India. The governor's role is largely ceremonial, but plays a crucial role when it comes to deciding who should form the next government or in suspending the legislature as has happened in the recent past. After having stable governance for nearly thirty years up to 1990, the government and politics of Goa is now undergoing a spell of instability – it has seen fourteen governments in the span of the fifteen years between 1990 and 2005. In March 2005 the assembly was dissolved by the governor and President's Rule was declared. Since the recent by-election in June 2005, the Congress has been in. The Congress party and the BJP are the two largest parties in the state. Other parties include the United Goans Democratic Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party is the oldest in the state. Unlike the other states in India, which follow the British Indian model of civil laws framed for individual religions, the government and politics in Goa follow the Portuguese Uniform Civil Code, based on the Napoleonic Codes.