Amid Goa cabinet reshuffle buzz, BL Santhosh meets CM Sawant, MLAs

Panaji: BJP national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh has met Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and other state party leaders, amid speculation of the cabinet reshuffle.

The one-on-one meetings with the CM, other BJP MLAs and ministers were held on Tuesday evening at a hotel in state capital Panaji and continued till late night.

Goa BJP chief Damodar Naik, who also participated in the meetings, later denied any discussion on cabinet reshuffle.

The Sawant-led 12-member cabinet has one minister from ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and all others from the BJP. The state can have maximum of 12 ministers.

In the 40-member Goa assembly, the ruling side's strength is 33, including 28 MLAs of the BJP, 2 of the MGP and and three Independents. The state polls are due in 2027.

Besides CM Sawant, several other state ministers, including Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira, and MLAs Dr Chandrakant Shetye, Nilesh Cabral and Joshua D'Souza met Santhosh at the hotel.

Emerging from the meeting, the chief minister refused to divulge details when mediapersons posed questions.

There has been speculation that the Sawant-led cabinet might undergo a reshuffle.

Asked about it, Damodar Naik said the meetings were "merely for organisational purpose".

He denied there was any discussion on cabinet reshuffle during the meetings with Santhosh.

Legislator Nilesh Cabral said they had sought time from Santhosh to meet during his Goa visit.

"We were not called. We sought time to meet and spoke to him one-on-one," he said, refusing to speak on what was discussed with the senior BJP leader.