Pramod Sawant to take oath for 2nd innings as Goa chief minister on March 28

The BJP won 20 of 40 seats in Goa.

Pramod Sawant will take oath for a second straight term as Goa chief minister on March 28. The BJP on Monday said he will continue in his role, nearly 10 days after the election results in the coastal state where the party was able to win 20 of 40 seats. Goa was the only state in this round of assembly elections where the BJP got a second term but was not able to win a majority. In Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur, the seats won by the BJP were comfortably above the halfway mark.

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Goa acting CM Pramod Sawant during a meeting in Panaji on Monday.  (ANI photo)

The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Goa's oldest party, is back with the BJP after fighting the state polls with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. On Tuesday, Sawant submitted letters of support from the MGP - often serving the role of kingmaker - and three other independent MLAs from the state to Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai. With several veterans in the line-up, Sawant will have to meet multiple expectations during the distribution of cabinet portfolios, say analysts.

While Uttar Pradesh's CM pick was already decided, the BJP held deliberation for days if Sawant, Biren Singh and Pushkar Singh Dhami will continue in their roles in Goa, Manipur, and Uttarakhand. It came under criticism from rivals over the delay in the government formation in the states. Ultimately, all the BJP-ruled states will have same leaders delivering a second innings.

“I want to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah for giving me the opportunity to work as the CM of Goa for the next five years. I am glad that the people of Goa have accepted me. I will do everything possible to work for the development of the state," Sawant told reporters on Monday evening after the party's marathon meeting.