MGP MLA Dipak Pawaskar to be inducted into Goa govt today; lone party lawmaker Sudin Dhavalikar dropped from cabinet

Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will be inducting former MGP MLA Dipak Pawaskar, who has merged the legislative wing of the party with the BJP, into the state cabinet at 11.30 pm Wednesday, a senior official said.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the Raj Bhavan where Governor Mridula Sinha will administer oath to Pawaskar, a senior government official told PTI.

The swearing-in was scheduled to be held in the morning, but could not take place as Sinha was in New Delhi. “The governor has cut short her Delhi trip and would be arriving in the evening to administer oath,” the official said.

Pawaskar and another Maharahstrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) MLA Manohar Ajgaonkar merged the legislature wing of the party with the BJP in the early hours of Wednesday. The MGP is now left with only one MLA - Sudin Dhavalikar - after the split.

Dhavalikar, who was the deputy chief minister, was dropped from the cabinet after the early morning developments.

Pawaskar is the first-time MLA who represents Sanvordem constituency in South Goa district. During the wee hours Wednesday, Ajgaonkar and Pawaskar gave a letter to officiating Speaker Michael Lobo, merging their party’s legislative wing with the BJP. Dhavalikar, the third MGP MLA, did not sign the letter.

On Tuesday, MGP president Dipak Dhavalikar had claimed that his party was the target of a conspiracy by opponents.