After a delay of 11 days, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced incumbent Chief Minister Pramod Sawant as the Goa CM again. Sources in the party confirmed that the central leadership had a tough time picking between Valpoi MLA Vishwajit Rane and Sawant.
In an exclusive interview moments after he was named the Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant spoke to News18.com, touching upon the delay in the announcement and the road ahead.
This is a question you must ask our state and central party leaders, not me.
How did you see your prospects?
The elections were fought under my leadership. The campaign put together by PM Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah and BJP state president JP Nadda helped us win 20 seats. Three Independents extended their support to us.
You fought the elections on the poll plank of development…Do you have plans to build Goa on the lines of the Kashi corridor, with six megacities, etc?
Goa has never seen the kind of development we brought in with the help of the central government and the BJP’s double engine governance. We have been ahead in infrastructure development. We have converted PM Modi’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ into ‘Swayampoorna Goa’. We are confident of making Goa self-reliant.