Goa issue settled, Pramod Sawant to be next CM, says MLA

Panaji, Mar 19: Amid rumours of Pramod Sawant becoming the Chief Minister of Goa, BJP MLA Subhash Phal Desai on Saturday said that the issue has been settled and Sawant will be occupying the top post again.

"There's no need for further discussion on the issue of the next Goa Chief Minister since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Pramod Sawant will continue to lead the government in the state," news agency ANI quoted Desai as saying.

The BJP leader stated that the party has disciplined workers. "Since the BJP is a national party, we need time to decide on the date of the swearing-in ceremony. I have said over a hundred times that if our Prime Minister says that Pramod Sawant is going to be the Chief Minister of Goa then there is no need for further discussion," he added, claiming that the ceremony is delayed due to Shigmo Utsav.

"The swearing-in ceremony will be held in three to four days. Besides Holi, Goans are celebrating Shigmotsav, which is very close to the people of Goa. We will follow the schedules given by the party high command and the swearing-in ceremony would be immediately held," Desai told ANI.

The saffron party emerged as the single largest party by winning 20 seats, one short of the majority, in the 40-member assembly. It reduced Congress to 11 seats.

After the BJP Parliamentary Board's appointment of Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and L Murugan as the central observer and co-observer for Goa, the next Chief Minister's name will be announced in the BJP's state legislature party meeting.