Pramod Sawant will meet PM Modi later today (File)
new Delhi:
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is in Delhi on Thursday to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the state election results.
The meeting assumes significance with exit polls predicting a hung mandate in Goa, which went to polls on February 14.
Sources say Mr. Sawant will brief the Prime Minister on the party’s prospects of retaining power in Goa.
This is the BJP’s first election in the seaside state after the death of charismatic former chief minister Manohar Parrikar in 2019.
After the meeting, Mr. Sawant will travel to Mumbai, where he and state BJP president Sadanand M. Shet Tanawade will meet BJP’s Goa in-charge Devendra Fadnavis.
Mr. Fadnavis is believed to be in talks with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) for an alliance. BJP is also ready to reach out to independent candidates.
The BJP has rubbished exit poll predictions in Goa and expressed confidence that it will be the single largest and in a position to form the government.
Exit poll polls showed a one-on-one fight in Goa after polling ended yesterday.
According to NDTV’s exit polls, both the BJP and the Congress are likely to win 16 out of 40 seats in the state, falling short of the majority mark of 21.
Goa debutant Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress has been given three seats in this election, which shows that it can play the role of kingmaker in the race for majority. The Trinamool had contested the elections in alliance with the MGP.
A similar upheaval occurred in Goa after the 2017 election, when the Congress won the largest with 17 seats, but failed to take power. The BJP, which had 13 seats, took power after tying up with smaller parties, including the MGP and independent legislators.
In 2019, when Mr Sawant took over as chief minister following Mr Parrikar’s death, two MGP ministers were dropped. The MGP has said it will not support the Pramod Sawant-led BJP, but the chief minister says there are “no personal differences” with the party.