The cabinet rejig is likely to help BJP in upcoming municipal and ZP polls
The much-talked-about cabinet reshuffle took place on Thursday with the induction of former chief minister Digambar Kamat and outgoing Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly Ramesh Tawadkar into the Pramod Sawant cabinet. This is the second minor reshuffle since Sawant’s second term as Chief Minister. The first was in November 2023 when then PWD minister Nilesh Cabral was replaced with Nuvem MLA Aleixo Sequeira. The former Congress leader was inducted into the cabinet as per an assurance given to him after he, along with seven others, joined the BJP in September 2022.
For over a year, rumours of a cabinet reshuffle had been circulating. But with several trips to the national capital, the anticipated cabinet rejig only got deferred, much to the disenchantment of the aspirants. These included Tawadkar. In 2022, to accommodate some former Congress MLAs, Tawadkar was made Speaker, which he had accepted reluctantly. At the time, he was reportedly told that he would be made minister within two years. The Assembly term has now completed three and a half years. Tawadkar is making a comeback in the cabinet after eight years. His induction comes ahead of the ZP and municipal elections.
Considering that he is a tribal leader, his place in the cabinet was assured since the departure of Govind Gaude from the ministry in June this year. The ST samaj seems divided over the leadership issue. Removing Gaude from the cabinet has not gone well with one section of the tribal population. Gaude’s supporters suspect that the BJP wants to give the Priol seat to MGP, as the leadership of Goa’s oldest regional party has decided to go into alliance with the BJP in the next Assembly election.
On the other hand, Tawadkar being a tall leader of the ST community, his induction in the cabinet is going to give his work a boost. For a long time, he has been doing a lot of social work for the upliftment of the community. For the past three years, several houses have been built under the Shramdham concept. He is running residential schools for the tribal students and even has plans to tie up with top institutes to provide training to them for competitive exams.
Another tribal leader will also get a high position soon. BJP’s Sanvordem MLA and chairman of Goa Tourism Development Corporation Ganesh Gaonkar is likely to be made Speaker.
A political analyst said that Thursday’s minor reshuffle was needed in the interest of BJP. Several of the eight Congress MLAs who had defected to the BJP side had been waiting patiently. Obviously, they had come with some hope and promise. (With them the BJP has a brute majority, and the Congress was reduced to just three MLAs.) There had been apprehension then that it wouldn’t be smooth sailing, as it would be difficult to satisfy the 28 party MLAs and five allies. However, Sawant, with his cool demeanour, has handled the situation quite well politically. However, with only two inducted yesterday, there could be disgruntlement in the group.
Kamat’s induction in the cabinet will surely help the BJP strengthen the party in Margao and surrounding areas. With municipal elections coming up and GFP president Vijai Sardesai likely to put up a panel for the MMC elections, ministership for Kamat will boost the morale of BJP workers. Kamat is known for his political acumen and has a good rapport with the people, a connection he established when he was the chief minister from 2007 to early 2012. It will also matter what portfolios Kamat and Tawadkar get.
