Goa gets its new CM Pramod Sawant: 10 things you don’t know about him
New Delhi : Early morning today, when the whole country was sleeping, Goa speaker Pramod Sawant took oath as the 13th chief minister of the state. The 2am oath ceremony took place after BJP got letters of support from its allies on the assurance that both Goa Forward Party president Vijai Sardesai and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party leader Ramkrishna Dhavalikar would be made deputy chief ministers.
The 45-year-old BJP leader replaced the former defence minister and four-time CM of Goa Manohar Parrikar, who died of cancer on Sunday. Here're 10 key points about the new Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. Just take a look:
1) BJP youth leader and former Speaker of the Goa legislative assembly, Pramod Sawant holds a bachelor's degree in Ayurvedic medicine from the Ganga Ayurvedic Medical College in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district
2) He has practised as a doctor of alternative medicine in Goa. He has completed his Masters in Social Welfare from the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, a deemed university in Pune.
3) Sawant has been elected to the state assembly on two occasions in 2012 and 2017 from the Sanquelim assembly constituency.
4) Sawant who is a Maratha by caste, has served as a speaker of the state legislative assembly from 2017.
5) He was one of the younger BJP leaders close to former CM Manohar Parrikar.
6) Goa BJP spokesperson Dattaprasad Naik who worked under Sawant leadership said new Chief Minister as a "humble, down to earth person" who understood the aspirations of the youth.
7) Sawant's wife Sulakshana is currently the state president of the BJP's Mahila Morcha and his daughter studies in Class 6.
8) Sawant, who is a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteer, hails from the Sanquelim constituency, which is one of the important regions in the north Goa mining belt.
9) Sawant in his political career has generally managed to steer clear from controversy and was handpicked by Parrikar to assume the speaker's post in 2017.
10) Sawant has been associated with BJP for long time. His lineage as an MLA from the mining belt was one of the reasons why he was chosen by party seniors, according to a BJP leader, who was involved in the process of selecting the chief minister candidate for Goa.
