Agency report

Panaji, Jun 8: Digambar Kamat, who joined Congress just two years ago after quitting BJP, will be sworn as Goa Chief Minister on Friday at the head of a four-member coalition government.

Kamat, the 54-year-old power minister in the present Congress government, was "unanmously" elected as the leader of Congress Legislature Party at its meeting in Panaji well after Thursday midnight, AICC General Secretary in charge of party affairs in Goa told reporters after the meeting.

Besides Kamat, the MLA from Margao, Goa Congress chief Ravi Naik and one representative each from coalition partners NCP and Maharasthrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) will be sworn on Friday), Alva said.

The name of Kamat, who had played a key role in engineering the downfall of the BJP-led government in Goa headed by Manohar Parikkar in 2005, for the top post was proposed by outgoing Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane and seconded by Naik.

The CLP meeting was attended by all the 16 MLAs of Congress besides AICC observers Alva and Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.

Asked about differences in the party over leadership issue, Alva said "all the leaders will work as a team".

Kamath became the compromise choice for the post after opinion among Congress MLAs were sharply divided on whether Rane or Naik would become the Chief Minister.

Shinde, Alva and other Congress leaders elicited the views of individual MLAs separately at a hotel in Panaji. But a peeved Rane was not present during the exercise.

After the meeting, Shinde drove to the official residence of the Chief Minister and met him. Rane's son, Vishwajeet, an independent MLA, who has extended support to the alliance, was also present.

Congress, which won 16 seats in the June two assembly polls, and NCP have decided to form government in the state backed by two independents and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party which has two MLAs.

The election of Kamath as CLP leader came two days after the results of Goa assembly elections were announced throwing up a fractured verdict which saw Congress-NCP alliance emerging as the largest single group with 19 seats, two short of majority in the 40-member assembly.

Congress reached the magic mark with the support of two independent MLAs, including the son of Rane, and MGP which has two legislators.

Earlier report and pics from Rajtilak Naik
Daijiworld Media Network - Goa

Government formation process on

Union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde addressed the media after coming out from a 5-hour long meeting with all the winning Congress party candidates, at Dona Paula-Goa on Thursday.

Shinde is in Goa to decide on the chief ministerial candidate in the new Goa government that would be formed by the Congress party which emerged as the largest party with majority in the recently held Goa assembly polls.