Pramod Sawant sworn in as Goa CM, 8 others take oath as ministers

Mumbai: Pramod Sawant was on Monday sworn in as the Chief Minister of Goa for the second time in a row along with eight other ministers. Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai administered the oath of office at a ceremony held at Dr. Syamaprasad Mukherjee Stadium in Talegaon, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari as well as several chief ministers of BJP-ruled states. In March 2019, Sawant took oath as the chief minister following the untimely demise of his predecessor Manohar Parrikar.

The eight MLAs who took oath include Vishwajit Rane, Mauvin Godinho, Ravi Naik, Nilesh Cabral, Subhash Shirodkar, Rohan Khaunte, Govind Gowde and Atanasio Monserrate. Their portfolios are yet to be announced.

The BJP has kept in mind the equations of caste and community in the selection of its ministers. While Sawant and Rane belong to the Maratha community, Godinho, Cabral and Monserrate are Christians. The Khunte Gaurs are Saraswat Brahmins while the Gaurs are from the Scheduled Tribes. Ravi Naik belongs to the Bhandari community, which has a major share in several constituencies in Goa.

Though the number of ministers that can be included in the government apart from the chief minister is 11, the Sawant government has decided to induct three more ministers later. State BJP chief Sadanand Tanawade told reporters after the swearing-in that the rest of the ministers would be inducted “within a month or two”.

The BJP is one short of the majority mark of 21 in the 40-seat assembly and has the support of three independent MLAs and two from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). There were many speculations about which of these MLAs would get a place in the cabinet.

BJP leaders said they are planning to induct MGP’s Sudhin Dhavalikar into the cabinet. The BJP leader said, “There is some opposition to his inclusion. However, if he merges MGP with our party, it should not be an issue. That’s why our party chief has said that it will take a month or two.” Will take.”

The BJP is also in talks with Goa Forward Party leader Vijay Sardesai, who is the party’s lone MLA. Sardesai was in alliance with the Congress before the assembly elections. However, now there is a possibility that he may support the government. If this happens, he can be made a minister.

After taking oath, Sawant said mining, employment generation and tourism would be his priority.

Originally published at Pen 18