Pramod Sawant to succeed Manohar Parrikar as Goa CM

Goa Assembly Speaker Pramod Sawant was today named as the Chief Minister of Goa to succeed the late CM Manohar Parrikar.

"This is a very big responsibility that the party has given me, and I will try my best to perform my duties," Sawant told reporters here before proceeding to Raj Bhavan.

When asked about Parrikar's role in his political journey, Sawant said: "It is because of him (Parrikar) that I entered politics. I became Goa Assembly Speaker also because of him."

43-year-old Sawant represents Sanquelim assembly constituency. His wife, Sulakshana Sawant is the president of the women's wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Goa.

The Chief Minister's post in Goa went vacant after Parrikar died on Sunday evening after a prolonged battle against cancer at the age of 63.

BJP currently has 12 legislators and enjoys the support of legislators from Goa Forward Party (GFP), Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and three independents. GFP and MGP each have three MLA's.

Congress, on the other hand, has 15 MLA's in the house and is also short of the majority mark without external support. However, it had also, for the third time in two days staked claim to form a government in Goa.

Goa Assembly has a strength of 40 members with four seats lying vacant due to deaths of two legislators, including Parrikar and resignation of two others. The by-polls on the three seats are scheduled to take place on April 23.

Previous assembly elections in Goa were held in February 2017. The next elections are due in 2022.