In just a few minutes, newly appointed Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant won the floor test after 20 MLAs voted in his favour in the state assembly. Fifteen MLAs voted against the motion in the Goa assembly.
Of those who voted in favour of the motion, 11 were from BJP, 3 each from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Goa Forward Party and 3 Independents.
Ailing BJP MLA Pandurang Mhadkaikar too arrived at the assembly to cast his vote. Madkaikar had suffered a brain stroke in 2018. This was his first public appearance.
All 14 Congress MLAs and the lone NCP legislator, MLA Churchill Alemao, voted against the motion.
The ‘magic number’ for a simple majority in the 36-member House is 19.
The trust vote was overseen by Acting Speaker and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Michael Lobo.
Sawant, who heads a BJP-led coalition government, faced a floor test to prove his dispensation’s majority in the 36-member state legislative assembly.
He had on Tuesday told reporters that he is “100 per cent confident” of winning the floor test.
The one-day session of the state assembly was summoned by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha.
The BJP-led coalition comprises of 12 BJP MLAs, three MLAs each from Goa Forward and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party as well as two Independent MLAs.
The Congress has 14 MLAs in the 36-member Assembly. One independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar was seen in both the BJP as well as Congress camps on Monday and had not clarified as to whether he supports the treasury or opposition benches.
Sawant had taken oath as CM a little past midnight Monday, along with Goa Forward Party’s Vijai Sardesai and MGP’s Sudin Dhavalikar as deputy CMs – a first in Goa.