The BJP’s Pramod Sawant, an Ayurveda practitioner, is Goa’s new chief minister.

The announcement came after the last rites of the late chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday.

Sawant was the Speaker in the Goa Assembly since March 2017 and the frontrunner for the post. He represents the BJP from the Sanquelim constituency in North Goa and is believed to have been close to Parrikar and groomed by him.

The 45-year-old has a bachelor’s degree in Ayurveda, medicine and surgery from the Ganga Education Society’s ayurvedic medical college in Kolhapur and a master’s degree in social work from Pune. He also has a Sangh cadre background.

The decision on who would succeed Parrikar was taken at a meeting attended by BJP president Amit Shah and Union minister Nitin Gadkari. Sawant too was present.

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party’s Sudin Madhav Dhavalikar and Goa Forward Party’s Vijai Sardesai are likely to become deputy chief ministers. The MGP and the GFP are the BJP’s allies in the state with three seats each.

Sources said Dhavalikar told Gadkari during a meeting that he wanted to be the chief minister even as the BJP pushed for Sawant.

The MGP, GFP and three Independents had reportedly refused to back Sawant as the state’s next chief minister.

The BJP has 12 MLAs in the Goa Assembly, while the Congress has 14. To reach the halfway figure of 19, both the BJP and the Congress had to rely on allies.

Parrikar died last night after battling cancer. He was 63. The former defence minister was sworn in as chief minister in August 2017 for the third time.

On the day of Parrikar’s demise, the Goa Congress had staked claim to form the government as it is the single largest party. In a letter to the governor, the Congress said it was “entitled to be invited to form the next government”.

Vishwajit Pratapsingh Rane, who switched from the Congress in April 2017, was also being considered for the post of chief minister for sometime.

In October 2018, when Parrikar was ailing, news reports had inidcated that the BJP central leadership was mulling a change of leadership in Goa. Sawant and Rane were among the names being discussed. BJP president Amit Shah had then held meetings with alliance partners and the party's core committee members in the state.