Goa Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar dismissed the disqualification petition filed by Girish Chodankar against eight former Congress MLAs who joined the BJP in 2022. Chodankar argued their actions breached anti-defection laws. However, Tawadkar ruled that since two-thirds of the MLAs merged with another party, they are protected from disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, which allows for a “deemed merger” in such cases. This decision enables the MLAs to remain in the assembly as BJP members, with Chodankar’s team considering further legal options​.