Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who had succeeded the late Manohar Parrikar has passed the floor test in the Assembly after 20 MLAs voted in favour of him.15 MLAs opposed the move.
#BREAKING: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant wins floor test after 20 MLAs voted in his favor in the state assembly. pic.twitter.com/rl7cvFxDzU
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) March 20, 2019
Sawant addressed the Assembly prior to the Confidence Motion where he spoke about his deceased mentor and expressed his gratitude towards everyone who offered their condolences. He broke down several times during the course of his speech.
The Goa Assembly’s strength has been reduced to 36 from following the death of Manohar Parrikar and Francis D’Souza and the resignation of two Congress MLAs. The BJP has 11 MLAs in the Assembly while the GFP and MGP have 3 each. Independents have another 3 while the NCP has 1. The majority mark currently stands at 19. Pramod Sawant gained the support of all the three independents apart from their allies while the lone NCP MLA along with the Congress opposed the move.
Pramod Sawant represents Sanquelim constituency from Central Goa. In 2017 Goa assembly elections he had defeated Congress candidate Dharmesh Saglani, with a margin of around 2100 votes. He is an Ayurveda Practioner by profession. When the late Manohar Parikkar was bedridden, Sawant was tasked with attending public functions on his behalf.
