Senior BJP leader Manohar Parrikar will be sworn in as chief minister of Goa today and Governor Mridula Sinha will administer him and other cabinet ministers the oath of office and secrecy at Raj Bhawan this evening.
The Governor invited Mr Parrikar to form the next government in the coastal state after he submitted a letter of support from 21 legislators on Sunday. Three MLAs from the Goa Forward Party, three from the MGP and two Independents have pledged their support to Mr Parrikar. The BJP has won 13 seats in the 40-member assembly and managed to garner support of regional parties and Independents.
Mr Parrikar yesterday resigned as the Defence Minister to take over as Chief Minister of Goa. Mr Parrikar, an engineer from IIT-Bombay, led the BJP in 2012 assembly elections to victory and became the Chief Minister. He, however, was made the Defence Minister at the Centre in 2014 and was succeeded by Laxmikant Parsekar as the Chief Minister.
Congress last night urged the Governor to invite the party to form the next government by virtue of being the single largest party.
In a memorandum submitted to the Governor, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) claimed that they have the requisite support and they can prove their majority on the floor of the House.
Congress yesterday also moved Supreme Court challenging Governor decision to appoint Mr Parrikar as the chief minister. The hurriedly filed petition late in the evening was mentioned at the residence of Chief Justice JS Kehar, who agreed to give an urgent hearing today. The petition filed by Goa CLP leader Chandrakant Kavlekar has sought stay on the swearing-in of Mr Parrikar as the chief minister.
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