MAPUSA: In a move seen as an attempt to pacify a disgruntled party colleague, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday night quietly visited the residence of Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, who was widely tipped for a cabinet berth but failed to make the cut.
Sawant is learnt to have called on the Lobo couple at their Parra residence a little after 10 pm, spending over half an hour in a closed-door interaction with Michael Lobo and his wife, Siolim MLA Delilah Lobo.
The visit, sources said, was kept under wraps and no details of the discussion emerged.
Earlier in the day, both Michael and Delilah Lobo had skipped the swearing-in ceremony of two MLAs – Digambar Kamat and Ramesh Tawadkar – inducted into Sawant’s cabinet, fuelling speculation about dissent in the party ranks.
A BJP functionary confirmed the late-evening meeting but claimed ignorance of what transpired behind closed doors.
Interestingly, Michael Lobo later denied that the Chief Minister had visited his home.
“No, no. It’s wrong news. He did not come to my place. The swearing-in ceremony happened yesterday. So that issue is over. Of course, I was not part of the swearing-in,” Lobo told The Goan.
Downplaying the setback, the former minister insisted he remained unfazed.
“If the CM and the party does not want me to become (a minister), I will not become one. It’s very simple. We are here to serve the people,” he said, adding that if the opportunity arises, he would “anyhow” take up a ministerial role.
