Goa: Former leader of opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar Deputy Speaker Michael Lobo were among the four legislators inducted into the Goa cabinet on Saturday. Kavlekar sworn in as the deputy chief minister of the state.
The strength of the party rose to 27 when ten Congress MLAs joined the BJP on Wednesday. The chief minister dropped three members from its coalition partner Goa Forward Party (GFP) and an Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte from the Cabinet on Friday. Jennifer Monserratte and Philip Neri Rodrigues are the other new ministers sworn in.
Goa Governor Mridula Sinha administered the Oath of Office and secrecy to the new ministers at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in the afternoon.
Prior to the oath-taking, the chief minister issued a notification, dropping all GFP ministers — Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai, Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar, Rural Development Minister Jayesh Salgaonkar — and Independent MLA and Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte from the cabinet to accommodate the new members.
