Pramod Sawant and leaders of Goa BJP meet PM Modi in Delhi
Highlights
- This would be BJP's third consecutive government in Goa
- BJP won 20 seats. It enjoys the support of three Independents & 2 MGP MLAs
- Pramod Sawant took over the reins after the demise of Manohar Parrikar in 2019
Goa's caretaker Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is the first choice of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to sit at the helm of affairs in Goa again, sources told India TV. They added that the announcement is a mere formality that will take place once the central observers for Goa -- Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and L Murugan visit the state for the election of the leader of the legislative party.
Both the central observers will be holding one-on-one meetings with all the newly-elected 20 MLAs and then the name of the next Chief Minister will be announced, sources said.
The party's top leadership in Delhi is now discussing the names to be included in the government. Earlier, reports suggested that the party is looking for a new face to replace Sawant who won the election from the Sanquelim seat by a thin margin of 666 votes against Congress rival Dharmesh Saglani. Sawant took over the reins after the demise of Manohar Parrikar in 2019.
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Sawant had last week tendered his resignation to the Governor to pave the way for the formation of a new government in the state. He was asked by the Governor to continue as the CM till the new government is formed.
Meanwhile, Sawant and Goa BJP leaders met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi today. "Our party is grateful to the people of Goa for blessing us yet again with the mandate to serve the state. We will keep working for Goa’s progress in the times to come," PM Modi tweeted.
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The saffron party emerged as the single largest political party in the just held polls, winning 20 of the 40 Assembly seats. The BJP, which was just one short of the magic figure of 21, has said that it enjoys the support of three Independents and two Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) legislators. This would be the third consecutive government of the BJP in the coastal state.
