Pramod Sawant
Pramod Sawant is elected from the Sanquelim seat in North Goa and is a member of the Bhartiya Janata Party. He is widely considered a quiet politician with a sober personality. He was elected twice from the said constituency despite having no prior political experience. Sawant, a fervent supporter of the late Chief Minister of Goa, Manohar Parrikar, was elected Speaker of the Goa assembly. Before that, he never served in the state administration. Also, he is an Ayurveda practitioner and an (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) RSS member.
Early Life and Family
Pramod Sawant was born on April 24, 1973, to Pandurang and Padmini Sawant in Bicholim, North Goa. Sanquelim is his hometown. He is married to Sulakshana, a Chemistry teacher at the Shri Shantadurga Higher Secondary School, Bicholim.
Education
Sawant received a bachelor’s degree in ayurveda, medicine and surgery from the Ayurvedic Medical College of the Ganga Education Society in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. Besides, he has a master’s degree in social work from the Tilak Maharashtra University, Pune.
Political Career
Sawant began his political career in 2008 when he ran for the Pale Constituency by-election on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. However, he lost the election. Later, he ran for the Sanquelim constituency in the 2012 assembly election. This time, he emerged victorious. He also served as the spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Goa unit for a brief duration. In 2017, he was re-elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly from the same constituency. He was subsequently elected as Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly on March 22, 2017.
Chief Minister
Following Manohar Parrikar’s passing away, the position of Chief Minister of Goa became vacant. Then, the Legislative Assembly unanimously elected Pramod Sawant, the leader of the House. Sawant was subsequently sworn in as Goa’s 13th Chief Minister on March 19, 2019.
Family Achievements
Pramod Sawant’s wife, Sulakshana, is also a BJP leader. She is currently the president of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Goa.
Awards
Sawant has been conferred on State Youth Award by Nehru Yuva Kendra, Panaji.
Important Facts
- Pramod Sawant was regarded as Late Manohar Parrikar’s most devoted associate.
- He, like Parrikar, became Chief Minister of Goa without having served in the state cabinet as a minister.
- Sawant is also an Ayurveda practitioner and worked as a doctor of alternative medicine in Goa.
- He is active in social work and enjoys reading and traveling.
- He took the C.M oath in the Konkani language, which is his mother tongue.
- Pramod Sawant is also the president of the Goa Youth Club Federation.
- He is the member of the Central Council of Indian Medicine and the Goa Board of Indian System of Medicine and Homeopathy.
- His favorite sports include cricket and badminton.
- He is also a passionate cow lover and a well-known cow activist in Goa.