Goa: Cabinet reshuffle soon, Aleixo Sequeira to be made minister

PANAJI: The Pramod Sawant 2.0 cabinet is expected to be reshuffled within just six months of its formation. After the merger of eight Congress MLAs with BJP on Wednesday, chief minister Pramod Sawant said, "There will be a cabinet reshuffle soon."
Sawant is likely to drop two to three ministers to accommodate the new additions to the party. A senior BJP leader said Congress veteran Aleixo Sequeira, who had been a minister in two previous Congress governments including the one led by Digmabar Kamat, would be the only person to be inducted immediately.
A decision on the others will be taken in Delhi after BJP national president J P Nadda meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the senior party leader said. The central leadership will decide whether Margao MLA and former chief minister Digambar Kamat is to be inducted into the cabinet or moved to Delhi. “BJP may settle with just one ministerial berth to the eight Congress MLAs, but the final decision will be taken by the central leadership,” the senior leader said.
Presently, the cabinet comprises 11 BJP ministers, including the chief minister, and one from MGP. Sequeira, 65, has always contested assembly elections on a Congress ticket. He first contested in 1994 from Loutolim constituency. He even won unopposed in 1999. He lost his first assembly election in 2012 but returned to the assembly by winning the 2022 election. Sequeira had a good equation with former chief minister Manohar Parrikar