BJP MLA Sankalp Amonkar sworn into Goa cabinet filling vacant berth
· India · The Hindu, Indian Express, Hindustan Times
Governor P. Ashok Gajapathy Raju administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Amonkar at a ceremony held at Lok Bhavan in Dona Paula, in the presence of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and other cabinet colleagues. Mr. Amonkar was sworn in as a cabinet minister in the Dr. Pramod Sawant-led Goa government on Saturday, November 7, 2026, filling the berth that had remained vacant since the death of former agriculture Minister Ravi Naik in October 2025. Mr. Amonkar contested the 2022 Assembly elections on a Congress ticket and defeated three-time BJP MLA Milind Naik from Mormugao by a margin of 1,941 votes. He joined the BJP along with seven other Congress MLAs in September 2022, and before joining the saffron party he served as vice-president of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee. His induction is expected to strengthen the BJP in the Mormugao region ahead of the 2027 Assembly election.
Why it matters
Mr. Amonkar's inclusion restores the 12-member Council of Ministers to full strength after over a year of operating with one vacancy following Ravi Naik's death, directly affecting Goa's administrative capacity and the BJP's organizational strength ahead of the 2027 election.
Read the original report — The Hindu
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