Who will be next Goa CM? Suspense continues, official announcement soon

There has been no official announcement regarding the next Chief Minister of Goa even as reports indicated that Pramod Sawant would be sworn in at 11 pm on Monday. 

Goa Assembly Speaker Pramod Pandurang Sawant will be sworn in as the new Chief Minister of a BJP-led coalition government on Monday evening by Governor Mridula Sinha, a senior BJP leader told news agency IANS.

Pramod Sawant to be new Goa CM, reports IANS

 Leader of Opposition in Goa Assembly Chandrakant Kavlekar has reached Governor House 

BJP President Amit Shah,Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and BJP Goa MLAs including Pramod Sawant arrive at a Hotel in Panaji for a meeting

BJP has decided Goa legislature wing leader; issue only of allies, says Nitin Gadkari

Talks on with alliance partners; I am in Goa till 6 pm, says Union Minister Nitin Gadkari

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays last respects to Manohar Parrikar. It is a personal loss for PM Modi as Parrikar was the first person to propose Narendra Modi's name as PM candidate. PM had personally requested Parrikar to leave Goa's state politics and take charge of Defence Ministry at the Centre. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays last respects to Manohar Parrikar

Congress should be given an opportunity to make the government, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said in a presser as his party's 14 MLAs marched to Raj Bhawan to stake a claim at the government without an appointment. Congress claims that they are victims of injustice as they should have been called to form the government being the single-largest party. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has landed at the Panjim airport. He will travel directly to Kala Academy, where the mortal remains of Manohar Parrikar are being kept to allow people to pay their last respects. 

Sources say RSS man Dr Pramod Sawant will be most likely appointed as the next CM of Goa. Goa Forwad Party has said it has no objection with Sawant taking over the post, while MGP will decide after executive meeting. 

The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), an ally of the ruling BJP in Goa, has said its executive committee would take a call on whether to continue support to the state government. MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar met Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari at a hotel near Panaji to discuss the political situation in the state following the death of chief minister Manohar Parrikar.

Dhavalikar said, "The MGP would hold its executive committee meeting later in the day to decide whether to continue its support to the BJP-led government or not."

Responding to a question, he said there was no discussion with Gadkari on the chief ministerial candidate. The MGP leader also said he was not in the race for the top post.

All 14 Congress MLAs in Goa are at Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Mridula Sinha to stake claim to form the government in the state following the demise of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar said the party MLAs decided to walk to the Raj Bhawan uninvited, after the governor refused to give them an appointment. The opposition party had written to her, staking claim to form the government on Friday and then again on Sunday.

"We are a majority party in the House and still have to struggle to get the appointment. We demand that we be invited to form the government under the circumstances where the (BJP-led) government does not exist after Parrikar's demise," Kavlekar said.

Congress leader Ashok Gehlot on Monday claimed that Parrikar's death has given BJP an opportunity to correct its wrong. Congress has been crying foul for not being called to form the government by the Governor despite being the largest party since elections. Congress filed a fresh claim to form the government after Parrikar's demise last night. Congress has 14 seats in the house, which is shy of the majority. Whereas, despite having only 13 seats, BJP boast of 21 seats strength along with allies. 

According to sources, BJP is likely to announce the name of next CM from within its party by 2 pm and new CM will take the oath by 3 pm, at least two hours before Parrikar's cremation. "The decision on chief ministerial candidate is yet to be taken. But the picture will be clear by 2 pm," BJP president Vinay Tendulkar said, adding that the new chief minister would be sworn in after 3 pm today.

Nitin Gadkari today held a fresh round of held talks here with party leaders and alliance partner Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) to select a new Goa chief minister following the death of Manohar Parrikar. 

The BJP-led coalition in Goa began discussions on Sunday night to find a new leader to replace Parrikar, who had died earlier in the evening.  Parrikar, 63, was heading a coalition government comprising the BJP, the Goa Forward Party (GFP), the MGP and Independents.

BJP MLA Vishwajit Rane, MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar, who are aspirants for the chief minister's post, attended the meeting. A third contender, Pramod Sawant, who is currently the speaker, was not present. Leaders of the GFP were not called for the meeting. Dhavalikar said clarity on the leadership issue was expected by 2 pm.

All 14 Congress MLAs in Goa to meet Governor to stake claim to form government: Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar. 

Goa has a 40-seat assembly, but after the demise of Manohar Parrikar and BLP MLA Francis D'souza' and resignation by two Congress MLAs, the strength currently stands at 36. 

BJP has 13 MLAs, while Congress has been reduced to 14 from earlier 16. BJP also has the support of three MLAs each from Goa Forward Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. One independent and one NCP MLA has also backed BJP in the state, taking the total tally to 21. 

BJP MLAs Vishwajit Rane and Pramod Sawant are being considered as the next CM by the BJP in Goa, the sources said. As Union Minister Nitin Gadkari continues his marathon meetings to finalise the name of next CM to avoid dissolution of Goa Assembly, let's take a look at the brief profiles of two CM probables: 

Vishwajit Pratapsingh Rane

Vishwajit Pratapsingh Rane is a cabinet Minister in the Government of Goa. He is a son former Chief Minister of Goa and an incumbent Indian National Congress party MLA in the Goa Legislative Assembly, Pratapsingh Raoji Rane. Vishwajit Rane was the Minister of Health, Agriculture & Craftsmen Training in the Government of Goa led by Digambar Kamat from June 2007 to March 2012. Rane resigned as the MLA of the Valpoi Constituency and also from the Indian National Congress on 16 March 2017. Later, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 7 April 2017 and was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister on 12 April 2017 in the cabinet led by Manohar Parrikar. He was allotted the Health portfolio on 18 April 2017.

Dr Pramod Sawant

Dr Pramod Sawant is the Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly. He represents the Sanquelim constituency in the Goa Legislative Assembly and also a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Sawant is a Ayurveda practitioner by profession.

According to sources, the BJP legislature party meeting went on for around five to six hours. Names of Vishwajit Rane and Pramod Sawant were discussed as likley CM. Sudin Dhavalikar was also discussed in the meeting, sources said. The next meeting to finalise the name will start in some time, they said. 

BJP MLA Michael Lobo has said that the party's senior leadership will fix the turmoil in Goa Assembly, which ensued after the demise of CM Manohar Parrikar last night, by 09:30 am today. "The government will be in place by Monday morning at 9.30 a.m... I strongly feel that all alliance partners and Independents will stay with the BJP," Lobo said.

Gadkari arrived at a Panaji resort around 1 am to meet BJP and alliance MLAs in a bid to cobble together a new alliance coalition government. The senior BJP leader is also expected to finalise on a Chief Ministerial candidate to replace Manohar Parrikar, in consultation with party President Amit Shah.

Congress MLA Digambar Kamat has said that he didn't get any offer from the Bharatiya Janata Party to become Chief Minister of Goa. "My programme in Delhi was finalised 2-3 days ago, there's no question of meeting anybody. I had gone to Delhi for personal work. I don't have any offers from the BJP; these stories were planted by vested interests. I'm not bothered about the leadership or the Chief Minister post," Kamat told ANI, adding that he didn't get any offer for Goa CM post. 

In 40-seat assembly, Congress has 14 MLAs, making it the single-largest party currently but shy of a clear majority.  BJP has 13 legislators and its government is supported by three MLAs each of the Goa Forward Party and Maharashtra Gomantak Party, and three Independents. Two Congress MLAs have resigned after defecting to the BJP.

Lobo said BJP MLAs have suggested the names of Vishwajit Rane and Pramod Sawant for the post. Earlier, Goa Forward Party (GFP) chief Vijai Sardesai, emerging from the meeting, had said that the parties were yet to reach a conclusion.

However, the BJP-led alliance in Goa has so far failed to reach a consensus over the next chief minister.

Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, who arrived in Panaji in the early hours of the day, could not secure a consensus between the saffron party and its alliance partners in the state, party MLA Michael Lobo said.

Goa Forward Party's leader Vijai Sardesai said their support was to Parrikar and not BJP. " Now that he is not anymore, options are open," he told media late last night. But Sardesai assured BJP that they will not seek dissolution of the house. We will wait for the decision at the BJP legislature meeting and then take the next step, he said. 

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party's leader Sudin Dhavalikar has expressed a wish to be named next CM. "Sudin Dhavalikar wants to become the Chief Minister. He said he has sacrificed many times by supporting BJP, he has put his demand but BJP will not agree to that," BJP leader Lobo said. 

Barely an hour after Parrikar's death Goa Congress leaders Girish Chodankar and Chandrakant Kavlekar wrote a letter to Goa Governor, Mridula Sinha staking claim to form Government in the state.

The letter reads "Coalition partners of Parrikar led Govt had allied with BJP on condition that Govt is headed by Manohar Parrikar. BJP, therefore, has no allies as of now."