PANAJI
Beaming with pride Chief Minister Pramod Sawant took a sarcastic swipe at his detractors, minutes after being sworn-in as the state's 14th Chief Minister, claiming he was an elected CM this time round and not an accidental one.
Sawant who was first appointed CM soon after the death of then Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar in 2019 led the party's campaign from the front in the February 14 polls in which the Bharatiya Janata Party won 20 seats and his government now has the support of five non-BJP MLAs.
"The BJP had declared me as a CM (candidate) and I am thankful to the central leadership that they gave me another opportunity. I am not an accidental CM, I am not selected but elected," Sawant said soon after the swearing-in ceremony which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president JP Nadda and a galaxy of central BJP leaders, including Chief Ministers of several states.
