The election season is here with five states set to go to assembly polls. One of them is the southern Indian state of Goa where polls will be held on 14th February. The state election seems to be a promising contest with multilateral fights between BJP, Congress, AAP, NCP, TMC etc. The state is currently being governed by the BJP-led coalition and the saffron party will be looking to bank on the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to achieve the desired arithmetic. CM Sawant has been termed by media as a no-nonsense administrator and has emerged as a major player in Goa politics since taking over the reins of the government in 2019. However, beyond all the election news bytes and political buzz, politicians have a personal life as well and Pramod Sawant is no different. And whether one is an election nerd or not, he/she is always curious to know little known facts about public figures like him such as family background, his early life, and his journey in politics. So, here are 10 little known facts about Shri Pramod Sawant.
1. Pramod Sawant was born in 1973 in Bicholim in North Goa. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery from Ganga Education Society’s Ayurvedic Medical College in Kolhapur in 1996. He is an Ayurveda practitioner by profession.
2. He went on to do his post graduation in Master of Social Work from Tilak Maharashtra University in Pune in 2010. He became a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at a young age and worked his way up to the higher ranks in the organisation.
3. His social work and leadership skills did not go unrecognised. He announced his entry into politics by contesting a by-election on BJP’s ticket from Pale constituency but lost to the INC candidate, Pratap Prabhakar Gauns.
4. He then contested the 2012 state assembly elections, which BJP won, from Sanquelim constituency and won handsomely by 14,255 votes. During his first term as a MLA, he served as the BJP state unit’s spokesperson for a brief period of time.
5. He had also served as former chairman of Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation, a Special Purpose Vehicle which was set up by Late C.M. Manohar Parrikar to speed up the infrastructure development in the state.
6. He was reelected from the same constituency in the 2017 state elections, this time by a margin of 10,058 votes. He was among the few BJP MLAs who got reelected as the party won only 13 seats. After the swearing in of the new BJP government, he was elected as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
7. He has always been a staunch Manohar Parrikar supporter and is considered as the late CM’s protégé. When Shri Parrikar passed away, he took to twitter to express his grief : “A statesman, guide, architect of modern Goa and a fatherly figure has left for the heavenly abode! A personal loss as my #Manoharbhai is no more! Om Shanti.”
8. After C.M. Parrikar passed away in 2019, the party handed him the reins of the government and he became the state’s 13th C.M. Like Parrikar, he became the C.M. without ever serving in the state cabinet. He took oath in his mother tongue, Konkani. He will once again contest elections next month from his current constituency, Sanquelim. Photo: ANI
9. He is married to Sulakshana Sawant who is a teacher of Chemistry at the Shri Shantadurga Higher Secondary School in Bicholim. She also serves as President of Goa chapter of BJP’s Mahila Morcha. The couple has a daughter. Photo: India.com
10. His favourite sports are cricket and badminton. He is also the president of Goa Youth Club Federation.
