Who's next Goa CM? BJP maintains suspense; MLA Vishwajit Rane meets Governor; Pramod Sawant in limbo

Two days after the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single largest party in the Goa elections, suspense over who will be Chief Minister continued. Amid speculation that Pramod Sawant might be replaced, another senior BJP leader Vishwajit Rane, met the Goa Governor on March 12.

Earlier in the day, Sawant had submitted his ceremonial resignation to the Governor to clear the way for the next Cabinet's oath-taking. After submitting his resignation, Sawant avoided the CM topic while tweeting, "Goa will continue to prosper with the Double Engine Sarkar under the dynamic leadership of PM Modi."

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After calling on the Governor, Vishwajit Rane reportedly said that it was a "personal meeting". On March 10, when the election results were announced, Rane had been asked about who would be the next CM. He had said that it was a "sensitive" question, and he "did not know" the answer.

Outgoing CM Pramod Sawant won from the Sanquelim seat by a thin margin of 666 votes against Congress' Dharmesh Saglani. Reacting to the result, Sawant had reportedly cited his state-wide campaign for being unable to focus much on Sanquelim. He had also said that while he won with a slim margin, the BJP won with a majority.

Meanwhile, the BJP secured 20 seats, 1 short of a majority. However, the party subsequently secured the support of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak party with 2 legislators, and 3 Independent MLAs.