(LiveMint)
BJP MLA Pramod Sawant was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Goa just before 2am Tuesday, capping a day of hectic parleys between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies to put a new government in place in the state. After multiple postponements of the oath ceremony on Monday, the day when his predecessor Manohar Parrikar was cremated with state honours, Sawant was sworn in by Goa governor Mridula Sinha at Raj Bhavan at 1.50am.
Sinha administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 46-year-old legislator from Sankhalim in North Goa. The governor also administered oath to 11 other ministers, including those from BJP’s allies Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and the Goa Forward Party (GFP). Interestingly, all the ministers who were part of erstwhile Manohar Parrikar-led cabinet were sworn in by the Governor. MGP’s two MLAs Sudin Dhavalikar and Manohar Ajgaonkar were sworn-in, while Goa Forward party MLAs Vijai Sardesai, Vinod Palekar and Jayesh Salgaonkar also took oath. BJP MLAs Mauvin Godinho, Vishwajit Rane, Milind Naik and Nilesh Cabral also found a place in the Sawant-led cabinet. Independent MLAs Rohan Khaunte and Govind Gawade were also sworn in by Governor.
