Goa CM’s swearing-in ceremony called off, confirms Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo

In a new twist, Goa’s Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo on Monday said that the swearing-in of the new Chief Minister, which was scheduled to be held at 11 pm at the Raj Bhavan, has been called off. "There many things which are to be discussed among allies and BJP leaders. The swearing-in will not happen at 11 p.m. tonight," the BJP MLA was quoted as saying by IANS. Lobo, however, failed to confirm when the much-awaited swearing-in will take place.

Earlier, the sources said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) named Pramod Sawant as the next chief minister of Goa. The new chief minister is likely to sworn-in at 11 pm. The sources further added that Maharashtra Gomantak Party's (MGP)  Sudin Dhavalikar and Goa Forward Party's (GFP) Vijay Sardesai will be two Deputy Chief Ministers of Sawant in Goa.

Pramod Sawant has been the Goa Assembly Speaker since March 22, 2017. He also represented Sanquelim seat of North Goa in state Assembly. 

The Goa Assembly has a strength of 40 members but currently, there are 36 MLAs following the death of two BJP legislators, Manohar Parrikar and Francis D'Souza, and the resignation of two Congress lawmakers. Congress is the single largest party in the state with 14 MLAs. The BJP has 12 legislators, while the GFP, MGP and Independents have three MLAs each. The NCP has one legislator. The majority mark in Goa Assembly is 19.

BJP sources claimed that the swearing-in ceremony was cancelled because the ongoing discussions between Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and BJP allies vis-a-vis power-sharing and distribution of portfolios remained inconclusive.