Goa: BJP leader Vishwajit Rane meets governor amid speculations on next chief minister

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Vishwajit Rane met Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai on Saturday amid speculations on who would take oath as the next chief minister of the state, reported the Hindustan Times.

In the state election results announced on Thursday, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 20 seats, just one short of the majority mark of 21 in the 40-member Assembly. The party has claimed to have secured support from two MLAs of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and three independent MLAs.

However, the BJP has not yet approached the governor with a claim to form the government. Neither has the state unit of the BJP elected its legislature party chief.

Rane’s meeting with the governor on Saturday evening came hours after sitting Chief Minister Pramod Sawant gave his resignation to Pillai. The governor has appointed Sawant as the caretaker chief minister of the state till the oath-taking ceremony.

In a tweet on Saturday, Rane said that his meeting with Pillai was a “personal visit” to invite the governor to his constituency. Rane won the Poriem Assembly seat by a margin of 13,943 votes.

Earlier on Saturday, Sawant had told reporters that the delay in electing a BJP legislature party chief, was because they were “following central leadership’s procedures.”

“The swearing in is scheduled in four states,” he added. “A decision has not been made regarding the arrival of the observers from the central leadership yet. After the decision is taken at the Centre, dates for all states will be finalised and the swearing in will take place in all four states.”

During the counting of votes on Thursday, when Rane was asked if Sawant will continue as the chief minister, he had described it a “sensitive question” and said he did not know the answer, reported NDTV.

At that time, Sawant was trailing in the Sanquelim constituency but later managed to win the seat by a margin of 666 votes.

JD(U) supports BJP in Manipur

Meanwhile in Manipur, six MLAs of the the Janata Dal (United) have extended support to the BJP. The Janata Dal (United) is a member of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre and Bihar.

The BJP, however, does not need support to form the government as it has won 32 constituencies of the 60-member Assembly on its own. The Naga People’s Front, which won five seats, and Independent MLA Nishikanta Sapam have also extended support to the BJP, reported The Hindu.

The Janata Dal (United) also announced that its MLAs have chosen Khumukcham Joykisan Singh as the leader of the legislature party. Ngursanglur Sanate has been elected as Singh’s deputy.

Also read:

For India’s opposition parties, is there a silver lining in the assembly election defeats?