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Goa floor test today, new CM Pramod Sawant confident of victory

The BJP government in Goa led by new chief minister Pramod Sawant will face a floor test on Wednesday to prove its majority in the Assembly.

The floor test was necessitated after the demise of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, which brought down the number of legislators in the house to 36.

Goa governor Mridula called a session of the Assembly at 11:30 am for the test vote.

Sawant who was earlier the speaker of the assembly had resigned the post prior to his swearing-in as chief minister and handed over the charge to deputy speaker Michael Lobo, who will assume the speaker’s chair for Wednesday’s session.

He had on Tuesday said he was confident of sailing through the floor test in the reduced 36 member house.

“We are going for the floor test tomorrow. It will happen well. There will be no problem. I am 100% confident (of the floor test),” he said.

He had taken oath as the chief minister at 1.50 am on Tuesday after his predecessor and veteran BJP leader Manohar Parrikar passed away.

Sawant’s swearing in was preceded by hectic parleys between top BJP leaders — president Amit Shah and Union minister Nitin Gadkari — and coalition partners, MGP and GFP, which were initially against Sawant being made the chief minister.

He got the backing of 12 BJP MLAs and six lawmakers of the MGP and the Goa Forward Party after the leaders of the two parties — Sudin Dhavalikar and Vijai Sardesai — were promised the post of Deputy Chief Minister.

Opposition Congress, with its 14 MLAs had staked claim to form the government and submitted a letter to Governor Mridula Sinha soon after the death of Manohar Parrikar.

Lone Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Churchill Alemao had voted in favour of the previous BJP-led coalition government in 2017, but had participated in a press conference organised by the Congress on Monday, amid the midnight drama over government formation.

First Published:
Mar 20, 2019 09:04 IST

Source: HindustanTimes