BJP has appointed Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and L Murugan as the observer and co-observer, respectively, to oversee the selection of the chief minister and process to stake claim to form the next government.
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Union Minister for Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar and L Murugan arrived in Goa on Monday, just hours ahead of a much-awaited BJP legislature party meeting to formalise the name of its Chief Minister.
Tomar was accompanied by Union Minister of State for Fisheries L. Murugan and is expected to chair a meeting of party MLAs at 4 p.m., following which a letter formally staking claim to form a government would be sent to the Governor.
"Today the legislators will meet at 4 p.m. In this meeting, the legislature party of the BJP will choose its leader. I, along with Union state minister Murugan, are here. We will meet all party workers and MLAs and conclude the election procedure for the leadership," Tomar told reporters soon after his arrival at the Dabolim international airport.
"We will seek a meeting with the Governor as soon as the legislature party meeting concludes," Tomar also said.
Interestingly, ever since the election results were revealed on March 10, the BJP has been dilly dallying over its choice of the Chief Minister, amid infighting between caretaker Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who held the post from 2019-22 and his former Health Minister and arch rival Vishwajit Rane.
Tomar however insisted that there was no in-fighting within the BJP, adding that the delay in government formation was not a state specific issue.
"There is no question of infighting. BJP is a united party and it has a constitution, it has a style of functioning. After a poll, the legislature party meets and it selects a leader who becomes a chief minister," Tomar said.
In the recently-held elections in Goa, the BJP won 20 seats, just one short of a simple majority, in the 40-member House. BJP's nearest rival Congress won 11 seats, AAP 2, Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP) 2, Independents 3, Revolutionary Goans 1, and Goa Forward Party 1.