Pramod Sawant takes charge as new Goa CM, says will go for floor test on Wednesday

Pramod Sawant on Tuesday took charge as the new chief minister Goa. Sawant was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Goa just before 2 am on Tuesday.

After taking charge as the new CM, Sawant said: "We are going for the floor test tomorrow. There will two deputy CMs in this government- Vijay Sardesai and Sudin Dhavalikar. And I request all the people to not congratulate me or welcome me with flowers during the 7-day mourning period."

The two-time MLA from Sankhalim in North Goa, Sawant, who was Speaker of the state Assembly, is a dedicated RSS worker.

The politician, recently seen in the RSS uniform at a Sangh event, was on Monday sworn in as the new chief minister of Goa following Manohar Parrikar's death.

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His elevation to the top post in the coastal state followed hectic parleys between the BJP and its alliance partners.

As per the power-sharing arrangement reached with allies, an MLA each from MGP and GFP, two small parties backing BJP in the coastal state would be made deputy CMs.

Sawant said his party BJP has given him a big responsibility.

Talking to reporters, Sawant credited Parrikar, who died Sunday after battling pancreatic cancer, for brining him into politics.

Sawant's political career began in the BJP as a youth leader. A staunch Parrikar supporter, he had worked closely with the late leader.

He won the 2012 and 2017 Assembly elections from North Goa's Sankhalim constituency, which used to be a Congress stronghold.

He was among the few BJP MLAs who got re-elected in their constituencies during the state polls two years ago, when the party managed to win only 13 seats as compared to t 21 in the 2012 elections.

When Parrikar cobbled up an alliance with the Goa Forward Party, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Independents in 2017 despite the Congress being the single largest party, Sawant was elected the Assembly Speaker.

He is a former chairman of the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation, a special purpose vehicle set up by Parrikar to take up various infrastructure works in the coastal state.

Sawant holds a Bachelor's Degree in Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery from Ganga Education Society's Ayurvedic College in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra.

His wife Sulakshana heads the BJP Mahila Morcha in Goa.