The incumbent chief minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, is all set to take oath as the CM again.
The reason behind the Bharatiya Janata Party’s decision, according to sources, is that Sawant helped the party win 20 of the 40 seats in the Goa assembly elections, more than what it had won five years ago.
Sawant took over as the chief minister of Goa after BJP leader Manohar Parrikar died in 2019. Sources said that Sawant’s name for the top post was ratified by Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP’s election in-charge in Goa.
The caretaker CM was recently in Delhi to meet BJP president J P Nadda. Sawant had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on March 8, ahead of poll results.
PERSONAL LIFE
Born on April 24, 1973, Sawant hails from Kothambi, Pale, Bicholim Goa. He has done his Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery degree from the Ganga Education Society’s Ayurvedic Medical College in Kolhapur. He has completed his post-graduation degree in Master of Social work from the Tilak Maharashtra University.
POLITICAL CAREER
A dedicated Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, Sawant won the 2012 and 2017 elections from North Goa’s Sankhalim constituency, which used to be a Congress stronghold.
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When Parrikar stitched together an alliance with the Goa Forward Party, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and independents in 2017, Sawant was elected as the speaker.
He was the former chairman of the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation, a special purpose vehicle set up by Parrikar to take up various infrastructure works in the coastal state.
PLANS FOR GOA
In an exclusive interview with News18, Sawant said his main focus would be development. “Goa has never seen the kind of development we brought in with the help of the central government and the BJP’s double engine governance. We have been ahead in infrastructure development. We have converted PM Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ into ‘Swayampoorna Goa’. We are confident of making Goa self-reliant.”
A supporter of mining, Sawant, highlighted the priorities. “We need to build modernised roads and complete projects that are pending. We have got a lot of support from the Central government to upgrade our infrastructure. From cities to towns to villages, we will complete all our pending projects. We will begin the Mopa International Airport on August 15. With the help of the “double engine sarkar”, we will complete all infrastructure work in Goa,” he said.
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