Pramod Sawant becomes Goa’s longest-serving CM of Goa
PANAJI, Nov 7: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who has now become the longest serving CM of Goa, has earned praise from his party colleagues and political analysts for striving to provide a stable government in the state.
Goa assembly speaker Ramesh Tawadkar’s recent decision to dismiss the disqualification petition of the Congress against eight MLAs who switched over to the BJP has further cemented the coastal state’s political stability, say experts.
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BJP leader Sawant, who took over reigns of the state in March 19, 2019 after the demise of then chief minister Manohar Parrikar and successfully contested the 2022 election, has now become the longest serving chief minister of Goa after it attained statehood 1987.
He is in the chair now uninterrupted for 5 years and 231 days.
Earlier, when Goa was a Union Territory, its first CM Dayanand Bandodkar had a continuous stint of 6 years and 129 days before his demise, his daughter Shashikala Kakodkar ruled the state for 5 years and 258 days, while Pratapsingh Rane had an uninterrupted stint of 7 years and 134 days.
Local political analyst Siddharth Samant said stability is of utmost importance to the state for its development.
“I have seen Sawant maturing as a chief minister, providing a stable government to the state,” he said.
Sawant’s capability to lead from the front was clearly visible during the recently Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year in which the BJP won one of the two parliamentary seats in the state, said Samant, who is a lawyer.
“While the BJP lost South Goa seat, the chief minister gave confidence to voters in the constituency as he was personally campaigning there with full concentration,” he said.
State Fisheries Minister Nilakant Halarnkar, who shifted from the Congress to BJP in 2019, recalled how his chances of winning the Thivim seat in North Goa bolstered under the leadership of Sawant.
“I contested the Goa assembly election in 2022 on BJP’s symbol. I had shifted from Congress to BJP just two years prior to that. I had a smooth sailing under the leadership of Sawant,” he said.
Halarnkar said the chief minister has the habit of facing everything with a smile on his face.
“He has maturedly handled all the issues which have surfaced during his career,” he said.
BJP MLA Sankalp Amonkar said his decision to join the ruling party and quitting the Congress was majorly due to Pramod Sawant’s charisma.
Sawant has provided a stable government which has resulted in the development of the state, he added. (PTI)
