As Pramod Sawant starts his second term as Goa chief minister, he has turned the political scenario of the state by leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a victory in the Assembly polls, a result that shows the party has come out of the shade of its tall leader late Manohar Parrikar. From being an Ayurvedic doctor to becoming a popular politician in Goa, here is a short detail on Pramod Sawant.
From Ayurveda specialist to a politician
An Ayurveda medical practitioner and three-time MLA from Sankhalim in North Goa, did a lot to make sure BJP comes to power for the third time.
This is BJP’s third straight term in office after it came to power in Goa in 2012. The saffron party’s best performance to date had been 21 seats won by it in 2012 when Parrikar ruled Goa’s political scene.
Sawant’s electoral journey began in 2008 when he fought for a seat from the Sankhalim (then Pale) Assembly part by the BJP, but lost to Congress candidate Pratap Gauns. However, he managed to pull it off in the 2012 election becoming an MLA for the first time. This was the time BJP contested the elections under the leadership of Parrikar.
Sawant came to the limelight after he got re-elected in 2017 and was made a Speaker of the Legislative Assembly when the BJP formed its government under the leadership of Parrikar in 2017. But unfortunately, Manohar Parrikar died, and the party’s fate was hanging by a thread.
It was then Sawant sworn in as the chief minister for the first time in March 2019 after the death of Parrikar. The 48-year-old is regarded close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and was seen participating in an RSS event during his first term as the chief minister.
New face for BJP in Goa
During his term lot of challenges came to him, such as anti-incumbency and resignations by some key figures, including Parrikar’s son. But the three-time MLA overcame all flaws and put up second-best performance ever in the recently concluded state polls – winning 20 seats in the 40-member Assembly in multi-cornered fights.
After pulling out a close to the simple majority mark, Sawant has now been given a second term in office by the BJP leadership with support for his incoming government coming from two MLAs of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), the coastal state’s oldest regional outfit, and three Independent legislators.
In the last month’s Assembly polls, Sawant won with a margin of 666 votes against his nearest rival Dharmesh Saglani of the Congress. Sawant was sworn in as the state’s chief minister for the second time on Monday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other important dignitaries.
Meanwhile, his wife Sulakshana Sawant is also an active BJP worker and associated with the party’s women’s wing in Goa.
