Goa 2027: Party to decide leader, my duty is to win, says CM Sawant

Goa CM Pramod Sawant said the BJP will decide its leader for the 2027 Assembly polls, adding his duty is to ensure the party's victory regardless of his role. He expressed confidence in winning, citing development and welfare schemes.

Party to Decide on Leadership for 2027 Polls

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said the decision on who will lead the BJP in the 2027 Assembly elections in the state rests with the party, adding that his duty as a party worker is to ensure its victory, regardless of the role assigned to him. Sawant said the BJP had given him the opportunity to serve Goa since 2019 and that he would continue to work for the party. He said his focus would remain on ensuring the party's victory in the 2027 elections, irrespective of the responsibility entrusted to him.

In an interview with ANI, the Goa CM said, “Definitely, it is a party's decision. It is always the party's decision. But from 2019 till now, the party has given me the opportunity to serve the state. By the 27th of May, everything will continue according to the party's orders. This is expected because of the election in 2027."

“To win the party in the state, whatever I can do, I have been doing and will continue to do. After all, it is my job to win the party. As a party worker, I have always been working for the party. No matter what role I play in the elections of 2027, winning the party will always be my duty. It is your party's speciality to win every election,” he further said.

Confident of Victory Citing Development

The Chief Minister also expressed confidence that voters would give the BJP another opportunity to govern the state, citing infrastructure development and welfare schemes under the party's rule. He said people appreciated the benefits of the “double-engine government” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and expressed hope that the BJP would return to power in 2027.

"Whatever work we do, we show it to the people and win. I will tell you, because in the history of Goa, 65 years of liberation have been completed. For 50 years, MGP and Congress ruled there. For the last 15 years, we have been serving the people," the chief minister said.

"And the changes we have seen in the service, especially with the infrastructure development, especially with the human resource, the way we got the opportunity to serve people in the social sectors, looking at all those schemes, people today like the double engine government, the Modi government. That is why we say that once again people will give us a chance, that once the double-engine government comes there," he said.

Opposition Gears Up for Elections

Meanwhile, political preparations have begun ahead of the upcoming Goa Assembly elections. The State Executive of the Goa Forward Party (GFP) has passed a resolution to move towards an alliance with like-minded secular political forces to defeat the ruling BJP.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-GFP alliance was announced on September 13 by AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and GFP leader Vijai Sardesai. The alliance presented ‘Goa First’ as an alternative to the BJP and Congress.

In Goa's 40-member Assembly, the AAP currently has two MLAs, while the GFP has one.

In the 2022 Assembly elections, the BJP won 20 seats with a 33.3 per cent vote share, falling one seat short of the majority mark of 21. The Congress secured 11 seats, Independents won three, while the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and AAP won two seats each, according to the Election Commission (ECI).

Elections to the 40-member Goa Legislative Assembly are expected to be held before March 2027. (ANI)

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