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BJP’s Pramod Sawant sworn in as Goa CM, takes oath at 2 am

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Pramod Sawant

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Pramod Sawant today (Tuesday, March 19) sworn in as Goa CM who took oath in a ceremony held at 2 am, after a long party meeting throughout the day.

Sawant succeeded four-time Goa CM and former defence minister Manohar Parrikar who breathed his last on Sunday.

The new Chief Minister will be aided by two deputies’ likely Goa Forward Party Chief Vijai Sardesai and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak party MLA Sudin Dhavalikar, from two small parties backing BJP in the coastal state.

Apart from the CM and his two deputies, nine other ministers of the state cabinet were also sworn in at the late-night ceremony.

The nine other ministers are Manohar Azgaonkar, Rohan Khaunte, Govind Gaude, Vinod Palienkar, Jayesh Salgaonkar, Mauvin Godinho, Vishwajit Rane, Milind Naik and Nilesh Cabral.

Michael Lobo, currently the deputy speaker, will be speaker till a new one is elected.

Sawant, along with union minister Nitin Gadkari, went to stake claim to form the government after midnight as power-sharing talks with the alliance partners continued till late.

The new CM said the party had given him a huge responsibility, and gave credit to Parrikar for his rise. “Whatever I am today is all due to Manohar Parrikar. It was he who brought me to politics. I became the Speaker and the CM today, due to him,” he said after meeting the Governor.

Sawant was elected leader of the BJP legislature party at a meeting held in the state capital minutes after Parrikar was given a state funeral with full military honours.

BJP chief Amit Shah and Gadkari met the legislators before the formal resolution was passed.

Things you should know about Sawant

Sawant is a two-time MLA from the Sankhalim from North Goa and was speaker of the State Assembly in 2017 and is a devoted RSS worker.

Sawant began his political career in BJP as a youth leader and is known for his hard working nature within the party and has been a close aid of the late Manohar Parrikar.

Sawant won the 2012 and 2017 Assembly election from Sankhalim, which is believed to a congress strong-hold region.

He was among the few BJP MLAs who got re-elected in their constituencies during the state polls two years ago(2017), when the party had won only 13 seats as compared to 21 in 2012.

He is a former chairman of the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation, a special purpose vehicle set up by Parrikar to take up various infrastructure works in the coastal state.

Sawant holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery from Ganga Education Society’s Ayurvedic College in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. He has completed his Masters in Social Welfare from the Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, a deemed university in Pune.

His wife Sulakshana heads the BJP Mahila Morcha in Goa and his daughter studies in class 6.

While BJP members are satisfied to see Sawant as the new Goa CM but Congress on the other hand has shown their dissatisfaction over state governor Mridula Sinha’s decision for not allowing the grand old party to form a government in the state.

The Goa Congress slammed Governor Mridula Sinha for giving the BJP a chance to form the government, and called her an “agent of the BJP”.

“We’re strongly condemning undemocratic action of Goa Governor Mridula Sinha for not allowing our single largest party to form the government and allowing BJP to carry on horse trading despite BJP not having sufficient numbers to form the government,” Congress’s Sunil Kawthankar said.

Kawthankar said the day will be remembered as “darkest day in Indian democracy.” “The state is without legitimate government despite Congress party being the single largest and staking its claim,” he added.

The Congress is currently the single largest party in the state with 14 MLAs. The BJP has 12 legislators in the 40-member Assembly, whose strength now is 36 after Parrikar’s death.

The strength of the House has reduced due to demise of BJP MLA Francis D’Souza earlier this year, and Parrikar on Sunday, and resignations of two Congress MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte last year.

All the state Congress MLAs had also met Governor Mridula Sinha on Monday and staked claim to form government in the coastal state.

There had been a series of meetings involving the Goa Forward Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party’s three MLAs each, an equal number of Independents, and BJP legislators since late Sunday night to reach a consensus on Parrikar’s successor.

Gadkari had flown into the state early Monday to lead the discussion.

Parrikar was heading a coalition government comprising the BJP, three MLAs each of the Goa Forward Party (GFP), the MGP and three independents.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Vijay meets PM Modi for second time as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister during Delhi visit

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi during his latest visit to the capital, marking their second interaction since Vijay became Chief Minister.

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Actor vijay

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday, marking their second meeting since Vijay assumed office last month.

The meeting took place during Vijay’s visit to the national capital, where he has also been scheduled to attend the Governing Council meeting of NITI Aayog. Reports indicate that the interaction between the two leaders lasted around 20 minutes.

This follows Vijay’s first official meeting with the Prime Minister on May 27, shortly after taking charge as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. During that meeting, Vijay submitted a memorandum on several issues concerning the state, including the Mekedatu dam project, Tamil Nadu fishermen detained in Sri Lanka, and other matters related to the state’s interests.

Vijay’s latest Delhi visit has included meetings with several national leaders as he continues engagements with the Centre and leaders from different political parties. Reports said he also met senior Congress leaders during the trip.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister took office on May 10 after his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), emerged as a key force in the 2026 Assembly elections and formed the government with support from alliance partners.

While details of the latest discussion between Vijay and the Prime Minister were not immediately disclosed, the meeting is being viewed as part of ongoing Centre-state consultations on issues concerning Tamil Nadu.

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Abhishek Banerjee gets three-week interim protection in Bengal signature forgery case

TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee has secured three weeks of interim protection from coercive action in the Bengal signature forgery case while the CID probe continues.

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Abhishek Banerjee

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee has received interim protection from coercive action for three weeks from the Calcutta High Court in connection with the alleged signature forgery case being investigated by the West Bengal CID. The relief comes amid an ongoing legal challenge by the senior party leader against repeated summons issued by investigators.

The case relates to allegations that signatures of several Trinamool Congress MLAs were forged on a party resolution submitted to the West Bengal Assembly during a leadership dispute. The complaint led to the registration of a case and a CID investigation, with the agency seeking to question Banerjee regarding the disputed document.

Court grants temporary relief

During the hearing, the court granted Banerjee protection from arrest and other coercive measures for three weeks while the matter remains under judicial consideration. The interim order provides temporary relief as the legal proceedings continue and the CID investigation moves forward.

Banerjee had approached the High Court challenging the CID summons and seeking protection from any adverse action. He had also requested additional time to appear before investigators, citing legal proceedings and other commitments.

CID probe and summons

The West Bengal CID has issued multiple notices to Banerjee in the alleged forgery case and has maintained that his statement is important for the investigation. Investigators have also questioned several MLAs and carried out searches linked to the probe.

According to investigators, the inquiry focuses on allegations that signatures appearing on a party communication submitted to the Assembly did not match those of some legislators. The authenticity of the document and related records remains under examination.

The matter is expected to return to court after the expiry of the interim protection period, while the CID investigation continues.

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CID searches Mamata Banerjee’s residence-cum-office in signature forgery investigation

The West Bengal CID carried out a search at Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence-cum-office in Kolkata as part of an ongoing probe into allegations that signatures of Trinamool Congress MLAs were forged on a document submitted to the Assembly Speaker.

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Mamata Banerjee

The West Bengal Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Tuesday carried out a search at the Kalighat residence-cum-office of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee as part of its investigation into an alleged signature forgery case that has triggered a major political controversy in the state.

The probe relates to allegations that signatures of several Trinamool Congress MLAs were forged on a communication submitted to the Assembly Speaker regarding the selection of senior party leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition.

According to the complaint, two party MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, informed the Speaker that no resolution had been adopted at a May 6 meeting as claimed in the official communication. They further alleged that signatures were added later and questioned the authenticity of several entries on the document.

The CID team, accompanied by police personnel, arrived at the premises located at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street in Kolkata. The location serves as both Mamata Banerjee’s residence and an important party office. Investigators reportedly conducted the search after seeking information connected to the collection of signatures under scrutiny.

The development comes amid an intensifying investigation that has already seen multiple notices issued to Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Searches were also conducted at locations linked to him as investigators sought to verify details regarding the process through which the signatures were collected.

The signature forgery controversy has added to the political challenges facing the Trinamool Congress, with the issue exposing internal divisions within the party following its recent electoral setback in West Bengal.

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