Pramod Sawant starts 2nd innings as Goa CM; PM, Amit Shah at grand oath event
Pramod Sawant oath ceremony: The 48-year-old leader considered Manohar Lal Parrikar as his mentor.
Pramod Sawant on Monday was sworn in as Goa's chief minister for a second straight term, which comes 18 days after the poll results were announced in the coastal state. The grand oath event - attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi - turned out to be another show of strength for the BJP after Yogi Adityanath was sworn-in in front of a 70,000 plus crowd on Friday.
Pushkar Singh Dhami, who took charge as Uttarakhand chief minister last week, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, and Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai were some of the leaders of the BJP-ruled states who were in attendance at the event.
Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh were among the union ministers who were also present. BJP chief JP Nadda and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who played a critical role in strategising for the state election, were among the attendees too. The security was tightened in the state are thousands of cops were deployed.
Ahead of the oath ceremony, Sawant, 48, tweeted: "Offered prayers to the Almighty as we continue on our journey to serve the people of Goa." He also shared his pictures.
Goa may be one of the smallest states in the country but it's crucial for the tourism sector. It is also the last of five states to see the chief minster's swearing in after the fresh round of assembly elections in the last few weeks. Of the five states, the BJP won four - Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Uttarakhand, apart from Goa. But the party delayed the government formation amid what is being viewed as an attempt to balance the expectations.
The AAP, which won Punjab with a landslide majority, had taken a swipe at the BJP over the delay.
The party has won the coastal state with 20 of 40 seats, and is set to form the government with the support of the MGP, which interestingly fought the state polls with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. Some independent MLAs have also backed the BJP.
