Goa: Pramod Sawant elected as legislature party chief, to remain as CM

Caretaker Chief Minister Sawant was the clear favourite for the post of the CM but faced some opposition.  

Pramod Sawant, Goa’s interim Chief Minister has been elected as the leader of the legislative party and new CM of the state. The announcement came after the BJP held the much-awaited legislature party meeting. This will be the third straight term of the BJP in Goa and the second term for Sawant.

“Vishwajit Rane proposed the name of Pramod Sawant as the Leader of the Legislative Party. Everyone unanimously elected Sawant as the Leader. He will be the Leader of the Legislative Party for the next 5 years,” said Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister and BJP’s central observer for Goa.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party in Goa in the recently concluded state Assembly elections, garnering 20 seats in the 40-member state Assembly and reducing the Congress to 11 seats. The BJP fell one seat shy of a majority in Goa but is poised to maintain power with the aid of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak (MGP) and independent candidates.

Caretaker Chief Minister Sawant was the clear favourite for the post of the CM but faced some opposition. Besides Sawant, the names of BJP MLA and former state health minister Vishwajit Rane, and Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Arlekar, who hails from Goa, were being discussed for the CM's post.

Newly elected MLAs of the BJP, which won 20 seats in the 40-member House, just one short of the majority mark, took part in the meeting at the party headquarters in the state capital. The BJP has secured the support of two MLAs of the MGP and three Independent legislators, placing it comfortably in terms of numbers in the new Assembly.

After choosing the next Chief Minister, BJP leaders and MLAs are scheduled to meet Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai at the Raj Bhavan to stake a claim to form the new government.