Panaji/ Dehradun: BJP's central leadership is keep mum over the appointment of new Chief Ministers to Goa and Uttarakhand despite party’s comfortable victory in both the State in just-concluded Assembly elections.

Who shall be Chief Minister of Goa, will it be Pramod Sawant or Vishwajit Rane. BJP central leadership is yet to take a call on who shall be sworn in as the chief minister. Governor P.S Sreedharan Pillai has convened the Assembly session for the new MLAs to take oath on Tuesday.

News 18 reported the reasons for the delay in announcing the CM name in Goa, Another reason for the delay in declaring the chief minister of Goa is that the BJP is busy trying to finalise the name of the Uttarakhand chief minister. The saffron party was able to retain the hill state — it won 47 seats in a 70-member Assembly.

The BJP is faced with the dilemma of choosing the CM face, as the outgoing CM Pushkar Singh Dhami lost his Khatima seat to a Congress candidate.

The BJP has won 47 of the 70 seats and stormed to power after setting a new record in a state, where voters changed governments each election.

“The central leadership has finally been able to decide the name. It should be announced shortly. The names of CMs in all four states will be announced simultaneously. This was one of the major delays in making a decision for Goa,” sources in BJP said.

In Goa, incumbent Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who led the party to power is a strong contender for the CM post and party senior MLA, Vishwajit Rane is also in the race, Mr. Rane joined BJP from Congress in 2021.

Rane was definitely in the chief minister’s race. “He is liked by some of the top leaders in Delhi. He is a strong contender, it’s the tussle between them that is delaying the decision,” a leader was quoted as telling News18.

Soon after the results, Mr. Rane released an advertisement thanking his voters, state BJP leaders and the central leadership. Curiously, Pramod Sawant’s picture was missing in that full-page advertisement in the Lokmat.

“The final decision will be taken by the parliamentary board. We are in no hurry. We have won handsomely and we will provide a stable and good government for the next five years. We will have to wait to choose the CM,” said CT Ravi, BJP’s Goa State in charge said.

“We went to the elections with Pramod Sawant as our chief ministerial face. He has governed well and has led the party to an impressive victory. He is the obvious choice,” said a leader from the Sawant group.

Another reason causing the delay is dependent on astrology.  “There are no auspicious days between March 10 and 17. So even if the swearing-in has to take place, it will only be after that,” said a CMO official.