Pramod Sawant's Goa Cabinet: Vishwajit Rane, Monserrate among 8 Ministers to take oath

In an exclusive scoop, Republic TV has learnt that 8 Ministers will be sworn in at the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Bambolim, Goa, on Monday. Vishwajit Rane, Mauvin Godinho and Nilesh Cabral, who were a part of the erstwhile Goa Cabinet, will retain their place. On the other hand, Independent legislators Rohan Khaunte and Govind Gaude, who joined BJP before the polls and won the election, will also be inducted into the Cabinet.

Similarly, Ravi Naik, Atanasio Monserrate and Subhash Shirodkar, who switched allegiance from Congress to BJP in the last few years, shall get Ministerial berths. While only BJP MLAs will be administered the oath of office and secrecy today, MGP MLAs and Independents who extended support for government formation are likely to be accommodated in the Cabinet at a later stage.

PM Modi, BJP president JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other top BJP leaders are expected to be present at the swearing-in ceremony of CM Pramod Sawant and the Ministers.

Here is the list of Ministers who will take oath: 

1. Vishawajit Rane
2. Mauvin Godinho
3. Ravi Naik
4. Nilesh Cabral
5. Subhash Shirodkar
6. Rohan Khaunte
7. Atanasio Monserrate
8. Govind Gaude

BJP beats anti-incumbency in Goa

In an unexpected outcome, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 20 seats in the Goa election and is in the pole position to form the government in the state for the 3rd consecutive time. In the 2017 polls, it had formed the government even after getting merely 13 seats with the support of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Goa Forward Party and independents.

Defying anti-incumbency and exit polls that predicted a neck-to-neck contest with Congress, the JP Nadda-led party has claimed the support of two MLAs of TMC's ally MGP and three Independents- Chandrakant Shetye, Aleixo Lourenço, and Antonio Vas.

On the other hand, Congress fell way short of the majority mark by bagging merely 11 seats with a vote share of 23.46%. Its alliance partner Goa Forward Party also could not perform as per expectations and only GFP president Vijai Sardesai could win from Fatorda.

However, AAP opened its account this time with Merchant Navy captain Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva winning from Benaulim and Velim respectively. A week earlier, Pramod Sawant was unanimously elected as the Leader of the BJP Legislative Party in the presence of Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and L Murugan.