PANAJI
A month after he oversaw a tough electoral battle and days after he overcame a challenge from his former Health Minister Vishwajit Rane for the post of Chief Minister, Sanquelim MLA and caretaker CM Pramod Sawant finally occupied the top political slot in the state.
Sawant walked into the Raj Bhavan as a caretaker CM and walked out as Chief Minister -- minus the caretaker tag -- for the second time, with the support of three independent MLAs namely Aleixo Reginaldo, Dr Chandrakant Shetye and Antonio Vaz and two Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLAs Sudin Dhavalikar and Jit Arolkar.
The swearing-in ceremony, according to state Bharatiya Janata Party president Sadanand Shet Tanavade, would be held on March 23-24, depending on the convenience of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who are expected to attend the event.
“My aim is to transform Modiji’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in Goa as Swayampurna Goa 2.0 this time. We will work together to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of creating a new India and a new Goa. We will work to provide good governance with transparency and zero corruption,” Sawant told reporters after meeting Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai.
Sawant paraded all the members of the BJP legislature party as well as the five non-BJP MLAs who have extended their support to the coalition government.
According to BJP national general secretary in charge of Goa CT Ravi, the support extended by the non-BJP MLAs was unconditional. “No one has demanded anything. Everyone has supported us without any conditions,” Ravi told reporters.
Sudin Dhavalikar also said that the MGP’s support to the BJP was unconditional.
“The day of election (results were announced) itself, our party has given a letter offering unconditional support. When Amit Shah called me, within two hours I immediately gave them the letter of unconditional support. One copy of the letter was given to the Governor,” Dhavalikar said.
When asked if the MGP had been offered a ministry in return for its support, the former Deputy Chief Minister said: “They (BJP) will decide”.
Dhavalikar, who was present at Raj Bhavan, however, walked away when asked to comment about the status of his party’s pre-poll alliance with the Trinamool Congress and his opposition (before results were announced) to Sawant’s chief ministership, which failed to win a single seat in the state assembly.
In a key development that preceded the formal calling upon the Governor, it was Sawant’s key rival for the post of Chief Minister, his former cabinet colleague Vishwajit Rane proposed Sawant’s name for the post of Chief Minister at a meeting of the BJP legislature party, according to Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who was appointed as an observer by the BJP’s central parliamentary board to oversee the first formal meeting of the BJP legislature party which was held on Monday to appoint its leader.
“Vishwajit Rane proposed Pramod Sawant’s name as the leader. Rane’s proposal was supported by Ravi Naik, Mauvin Godinho, Nilesh Cabral, Rohan Khaunte, Jennifer Monserrate (all BJP MLAs).
After that I asked everyone if they had another option. All of them said, ‘we are in support of Pramod Sawant’,” Tomar told reporters.
Meanwhile, Tanavade said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah were expected to attend the “grand” swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet, which is expected to be held between March 23-24.
