Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the party will start introspection as to why it failed to cross the majority mark on its own even though it had set itself a target of 22+ ahead of the polls.
Pramod Sawant, who is set to lead the party for a third term in the Goa Assembly, said the party is waiting for the parliamentary board representatives, who are expected to come on Friday, while assuming the oath-taking ceremony is on Monday, March 14. to may happen.
Although no decision has been taken by the party regarding the leadership in the state, but it is believed that Pramod Sawant can be the first choice of the party’s central leadership. Sawant told reporters late Thursday evening, “I am not saying that I have brought the number (seats). BJP has done this. Modi was the face. And under his leadership the election was held and we got a chance. I am a BJP soldier and the party gave me a chance to fight as a general. There has been no discussion (about leadership). The parliamentary board will decide this.”
Sawant had led a government that had a commanding majority of 27 seats in the 40-member Goa Assembly until a few months before the elections.
However, realizing that many of their MLAs might face the wrath of voters in the upcoming elections, the BJP refused tickets to seven of the 27 MLAs, while an eighth and more such candidates were placed in their place. Those who were ready to win Gaya like – Krishna Salkar, Praveen Arlekar from MGP, Premendra Shet were all brought into the party and offered BJP tickets. On the other hand, both Govind Gowde and Rohan Khunte, who fought as independents, and Ravi Naik of Congress, who joined the BJP before the elections, also won the election.
Sawant said, “We had said 22 in 2022, I am worried (about not getting majority on my own). We lost two constituencies close by. Mandrem and St. Andre and Siolim. We will analyze the mistakes. We have already started preparing for the 2027 elections. BJP is in constant process. I would have been happy with 22+.”
When asked about the support from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Sawant said that an ‘unconditional’ letter of support has been received without any demand related to the leadership. Sawant has said that no decision related to his cabinet has been taken yet. When asked whether the division of opposition votes benefited the BJP, Sawant said there is no such advantage for the BJP.
“We did not benefit from vote-sharing. If you check my constituency, MGP has got 212 votes. In my constituency MGP (generally) gets 2,500 to 3,000 votes. They have diverted votes (Congress), that means RG (Revolutionary Goa) is bigger than them (MGP). RG got around 600 to 700 votes. They have 10 per cent vote share.” In the 40-member Goa Assembly, the Congress was reduced to 11 seats, while its ally Goa Forward Party won one.