Pramod Sawant to be sworn in as Goa CM on Monday; PM Modi, Rajnath Singh to attend function

Three-time MLA Pramod Sawant, who led the BJP to win 20 seats in the recently concluded elections to the 40-member Goa Assembly, will be sworn as the state’s chief minister for the second time on Monday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries, an official said on Sunday. The swearing-in ceremony would be held at Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee stadium near here at 11 am. Prime Minister Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh would be present at the function, a government spokesperson said. More than 10,000 people are likely to attend the event at the stadium, and the swearing-in ceremony will also be broadcast across the coastal state through various news channels.

The BJP has so far been silent on the number of other cabinet ministers to be sworn in on Monday. When contacted, Sawant told PTI on Sunday morning that “You will come to know about it tomorrow. Right now, I don’t know how many ministers would be sworn in.” Besides chief minister, the Goa cabinet can have 11 more ministers. This would be the second time that Goa’s chief minister will be sworn in outside the Raj Bhavan premises. In 2012, Manohar Parrikar had taken oath as the CM at Campal ground in the state capital Panaji after the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the House. Meanwhile, Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai has summoned a two-day session of the new Assembly from March 29 during which Sawant will have to seek a vote of confidence, officials earlier said. A new Speaker would also be elected during the session, which is expected to complete a range of legislative business, including passing of bills and a vote-on-account (an exercise to deal with short-term expenditure needs of government), they said. While the Congress-led opposition has nominated MLA Aleixo Sequeira for the Speaker’s post, the BJP is expected to announce its candidate on Sunday. In the recently concluded state polls, the BJP won 20 seats, one short of the majority in the 40-member House. Three independent MLAs and two legislators of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) have extended support to the BJP. Sawant (48) is an MLA from Sankhalim in North Goa. He was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly when the BJP formed its government under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar in 2017. He was sworn-in as the chief minister for the first time in March 2019 after Parrikar’s death. Sawant, an Ayurveda medical practitioner, was at the helm when the coastal state faced the COVID-19 pandemic along with other parts of the country.