For starters, it was a show of strength by the party where thousands turned up to attend the function that lasted a little over a quarter of an hour, but it revealed in no uncertain terms that the Bharatiya Janata Party is already positioning itself for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Further, with only MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party being drafted into the new State Cabinet in the first round of the inductions, the very clear message being sent out is that the government which has taken office is not just led by the BJP, it is a Bharatiya Janata party government.
With 20 MLAs in the State Legislative Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party does have a strong presence, though in numbers it requires the support of regional parties and allies to reach majority and govern comfortably. But the fractured mandate that has distributed the other 20 seats among five parties and three Independents, ensures that the BJP can negotiate with its allies with the firm knowledge that it possesses the strong upper hand and even call the shots.
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It is clear that the Bharatiya Janata Party wants to assert itself as not just the senior partner in government but the one that will take the decisions from the very first day in office and wants the message that it will brook no dissent from its allies to reach its supporting regional party and Independents. Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has experienced dissidence in the past, when there were constant public statements from the allies that at times even led to undermining the government and the leadership. He obviously does not want this in his second term.
Yet, while asserting the stamp of authority of the party on the government via the composition of the cabinet for the current, the party has also several other concerns to deal with. Of the eight ministers that were sworn in, seven have been members of other parties or wore the Independent band in the past. The exceptions are the chief minister himself and Nilesh Cabral who have both been always with the party. In inducting the newcomers into the cabinet, the party has left out its loyalists, and this could lead to some disenchantment among the party faithful. There is more to this, as keeping the allies out of the first batch of ministers to be sworn in could also be due to the strong resistance within the party to giving Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar a berth.
What is very conspicuous by its omission in the cabinet is representation to Salcete. This is for the first time in a long while that Salcete, which sends eight MLAs to the Assembly has no minister in the government. The Bharatiya Janata Party has one MLA from this taluka and one Independent Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco is supporting it. The exclusion of Salcete could be remedied when the cabinet is expanded, but even then it will have just one minister, while Ponda that sends four MLAs has got three cabinet berths and Bardez that has seven constituencies also has just one MLA. It will not be easy juggling taluka representations in the cabinet, not even when it has been expanded to full capacity.
Interestingly, there are no new faces in the government. All the ministers have cabinet experience, some continuing from the first Sawant government and others making a return after a gap in the cabinet. So while some new faces may join in the second round, the cabinet will weigh heavily on the experience of the ministers to govern the State.
