Goa acting CM Pramod Sawant in Delhi ahead of legislative party meeting

Sawant on Tuesday said the new government will be formed after the election of the leader of the legislative party in the presence of the Central observer of the BJP.

Before leaving for the national capital, Goa acting Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that the new government will be formed after the election of the leader of the legislative party in the presence of the Central observer of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"Central observer (of the BJP) will come... a discussion will be done, and the leader of the legislative party will be elected and then the formation of the government will take place. I am going to Delhi today," said Sawant in Panaji.

The BJP Parliamentary Board has appointed Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar as the central observer for Goa and Union Minister of State for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry L Murugan has been made the co-observer.

On Saturday, Sawant tendered his resignation to Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai at Raj Bhawan in Panaji to pave way for the formation of the new government after the BJP won the popular mandate in the state.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party in Goa, winning 20 seats in the 40-member state Assembly, leaving Congress with 11 seats at a distant second position.

Independent candidates bagged three seats while two seats each went to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak (MGP). Revolutionary Goans Party and Goa Forward Party (GFP) got one seat each.

The BJP, which fell one seat short of the majority figure in Goa, is set to retain power in the state with the help of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak (MGP) and independent candidates.