New Goa CM to be sworn in later today; Congress also stakes claim

Panaji, March 18

Goa BJP president Vinay Tendulkar said there would be clarity on who would be the state's new chief minister by Monday evening. Tendulkar said this after meeting Union minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari at a hotel near here over the issue.

Hectic political activities are on in the coastal state to select the new chief minister after the death of chief minister Manohar Parrikar Sunday.

Tendulkar met Gadkari along with Assembly Speaker Pramod Sawant, who is a contender for the top post.

Earlier in the day, Gadkari met ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) MLAs led by Sudin Dhavalikar and BJP legislator Vishwajit Rane.

Dhavalikar and Rane are also aspirants for the chief minister's post, BJP sources said. Sawant and Rane are front- runners, they added.

Meetings held on Sunday night by the BJP and its alliance partners  the Goa Forward Party, the MGP and independents - remained inconclusive.

All Cong MLAs in Goa to meet Guv

Meanwhile, all 14 Congress MLAs in Goa were on the way to Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Mridula Sinha to stake claim to form government. Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar said the party MLAs decided to walk to the Raj Bhawan uninvited, after the governor refused to give them an appointment.

The opposition party had written to her, staking claim to form the government on Friday and then again on Sunday.

"We are a majority party in the House and still have to struggle to get the appointment. We demand that we be invited to form the government under the circumstances where the (BJP-led) government does not exist after Parrikar's demise," Kavlekar said.

The Congress is currently the single largest party in the state with 14 MLAs while the BJP has 12 in the 40-member Assembly.

The strength of the House has now been reduced to 36 due to demise of BJP MLA Francis D'Souza earlier this year and Parrikar on Sunday and resignations of two Congress MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte last year.

The Goa Forward Party (GFP), the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) have three MLAs each, while the NCP has one. There are Independents as well.

The GFP, the MGP and Independents are part of the Parrikar government.