Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday expanded his cabinet with the induction of three ministers taking the total strength of the cabinet to the maximum possible at 12.
Contrary to expectations, however, there was no place for any of the three independent MLAs who supported the government with two of the remaining three berths going to members of the BJP while a third was given to Ramkrishna “Sudin” Dhavalikar of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, that had a pre-poll alliance with the TMC, but extended unconditional support to the BJP after the poll results.
Besides Dhavalikar, Subhash Phal Dessai who late last month was elected as the deputy speaker and Nilkanth Halarnkar, a former Congress leader were sworn in as ministers by Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai on Saturday at 12 noon.
Dhavalikar, who previously served as a minister under Manohar Parrikar and well as under Digambar Kamat between 2007 and 2012 was dropped by Sawant as soon as Sawant succeeded Parrikar as Chief Minister and two of the three MGP MLAs switched to the BJP in 2019. In return, Dhavalikar supported the Congress candidate during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls ensuring that the BJP candidate was defeated.
The BJP leadership agreed to induct Dhavalikar despite vocal protests from a section of BJP MLAs that the MGP should be kept out of the cabinet largely to secure his support for the Lok Sabha polls, where the BJP is eying both seats in 2024.
Halarnkar too had served as a minister, then with the Nationalist Congress Party which was a key alliance partner of the Digambar Kamat-led Congress government in 2007, while Phal Dessai is a two term MLA first elected in 2012. Earlier in the day Phal Dessai resigned as deputy speaker ahead of his induction into the cabinet.
{{/usCountry}}Halarnkar too had served as a minister, then with the Nationalist Congress Party which was a key alliance partner of the Digambar Kamat-led Congress government in 2007, while Phal Dessai is a two term MLA first elected in 2012. Earlier in the day Phal Dessai resigned as deputy speaker ahead of his induction into the cabinet.
{{/usCountry}}“Congratulations to the ministers sworn in my Cabinet today, I am sure they will carry out their responsibility with honesty and care in service of the people and state,” Sawant said after the swearing in. He added that the distribution of portfolios to the newly inducted ministers could take a while.
Sawant has given no indication yet over when the ministers will be handed portfolios but most of the key departments have already been handed out to ministers who have been inducted earlier.
Goa BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavade said that decisions regarding the induction of ministers were taken at the central level.
“Since we are a national party some decisions have been taken at the national level. Since there were 20 elected BJP MLAs it was felt that the maximum ministerial berths should be reserved for those from the BJP itself. There were caste and regional calculations as well,” Tanavade said.
Dhavalikar who was inducted in the cabinet said he was willing to accept any portfolio allocated to him by the chief minister.
“It is the prerogative of the chief minister. I have even performed with portfolios like the Archives. Any department can be given to me and I will perform,” Dhavalikar said.