Goa

In a step that will make petrol in Goa the cheapest in India, chief minister Manohar Parrikar has proposed a reduction in prices of the fuel by Rs. 11 per litre in the state.

Congress today said that the record turn-out in the assembly election in Goa may not augur well for the party, but still it would be able to retain power in the coastal state.

Outgoing Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat has said the ruling Congress would have done better in the Assembly polls if he had been projected as the party's face for the top post.

Uttar Pradesh may have seen the rise of a prodigal 'son' in Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, but dynastic politics proved to be Congress' nemesis in Goa where several of its top leaders and their kin were defeated in the assembly elections.

In the wake of humiliating defeat in Goa elections, Congress leaders here have started blame-game, with outgoing PWD minister Churchill Alemao alleging that chief minister Digambar Kamat had worked against him.

Manohar Parrikar, who spearheaded BJP's emphatic win in assembly polls with majority of its own for the first time, today took oath as Chief Minister of Goa at the head of a 6-member coalition government.

For BJP leader Manohar Parrikar, who was sworn in as Goa chief minister on Friday, the third stint in the top post comes with no coalition strings attached following the party's emphatic mandate in the assembly polls last week.

Manohar Parrikar (56), a metallurgy engineering graduate from IIT Bombay, admits to illegal mining in Goa but denies there is any mafia involved. Rather, he puts it down to lax administration, which he wants to tone up after taking over as CM on Friday.

The Goa Congress today admitted that faulty distribution of tickets favouring the family members of legislators and a swing in the Catholic vote had contributed to its defeat in the just-concluded assembly elections.

BJP legislator Rajendra Arlekar will be elected as the Speaker of the Goa legislative assembly in the election that will be held tomorrow, the first day of the session.

Petrol in Goa may become cheaper by Rs. 11 per litre if the Manohar Parrikar-led BJP government abolishes the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol when it presents the maiden budget on March 21.

Goa tourism minister Matanhy Saldanha died at a hospital in Panaji after suffering a massive heart attack in the wee hours today, sources said.

Goa witnessed a record turnout in the elections for its 40 seats on Saturday, with 81 per cent of the voters exercising their franchise.

Senior BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu today said in Panaji that the Prime Minister will have to engage in a lot of explaining for the failure of his govt on several fronts during his election campaign in Goa ahead of the assembly polls on March 3.