Goa CM inducts three more ministers; MGP's Dhavalikar figures in list

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday expanded his cabinet by inducting three more MLAs as ministers, including Sudin Dhavalikar, who belongs to the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).

Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai administered the oath of office to the three new ministers.

Apart from Dhavalikar of the MGP, two BJP MLAs - Nilkant Halarnkar and Subhash Faldesai - took oath.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Raj Bhavan. Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant was present along with other members of the cabinet.

Sawant had taken oath as the chief minister along with eight other ministers on March 28 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leaving three ministerial berths vacant at that time. With the addition of three, there are now 12 members in his cabinet, including Sawant himself.

Dhavalikar was a minister in the Manohar Parrikar-led as well as Sawant-led governments between 2017 till 2019 before he was dropped from the cabinet ahead of the last Lok Sabha polls.

Halarnkar was minister in the erstwhile Congress-led governments and had shifted his political affiliation to the BJP in 2019 along with nine other MLAs.

Faldesai became a minister for the first time.

In the recently concluded elections in Goa, the BJP won 20 seats, one short of the majority in the 40-member House. Three independent MLAs and two legislators of the MGP had extended their support to the BJP.