Panaji: In the wee hours of today, BJP MLA Pramod Sawant was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Goa by Goa governor Mridula Sinha at Raj Bhavan at 1.50 am.
The 46-year-old Sawant, who was a legislator from Sankhalim in North Goa, resigned from the post of Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly before the ceremony, and Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo would be officiating as Speaker till election was held for the post.
The Governor administered the oath of office and secrecy to Sawant and 11 other ministers, including those from BJP’s allies MGP and the GFP, after the oath ceremony was postponed several times yesterday. Many of Parrikar’s cabinet ministers were sworn in.
MGP’s two MLAs Sudin Dhavalikar and Manohar Ajgaonkar were sworn-in, while Goa Forward party MLAs Vijai Sardesai, Vinod Palekar and Jayesh Salgaonkar also took oath. BJP MLAs Mauvin Godinho, Vishwajit Rane, Milind Naik and Nilesh Cabral also found a place in the Sawant-led Cabinet. Independent MLAs Rohan Khaunte and Govind Gawade were also sworn in by Governor. As per the power-sharing arrangement reached with allies, an MLA each from two small parties backing the BJP in the coastal state will be made deputy chief minister, party sources said. They are Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Sudin Dhavalikar. Senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, the party’s Goa in- charge, was present at the oath-taking ceremony. The new government was sworn-in with the support of 20 MLAs, including 11 from the BJP and three each from GFP, MGP and Independents. All the MLAs supporting the coalition were present at the swearing-in ceremony.
The BJP-ruled coastal state saw hectic politicala activity after his death. Just a few hours after Parrikar passed away, Goa Congress leader Girish Chodankar and Chandrakant Kavlekar wrote to Goa Governor Mridula Sinha and staked claim to form the government in the State.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari met with BJP’s coalition partners and finally managed to have a consensus over the leadership of Sawant, who will now have to prove his majority in the Assembly. BJP chief Amit Shah is said to have supervised the party’s bid to garner the numbers to stake claim to form government.
Speaking to reporters about this, Sawant said BJP has given him a big responsibility and he credited Parrikar for bringing him into politics.
The strength of 40-member Goa Legislative Assembly has been reduced to 36. The Congress is currently the single largest party in the state with 14 MLAs. Yesterday all the state Congress MLAs met Governor Mridula Sinha and staked claim to form government, saying it was the single largest party in the Assembly and should be allowed to form the government.
The four-time Goa CM, Manohar Parrikar, who passed away on Sunday, was cremated with state honours yesterday. The BJP leader had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2018. His coalition government comprised the BJP, three MLAs each of the Goa Forward Party (GFP), the MGP and three independents. His funeral procession started from the Kala Academy. Thousands paid their last respects to the former defence minister yesterday.