Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar Sunday inducted six more ministers in his Cabinet, including four legislators from the BJP, one from the alliance Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and one Independent.
Goa governor K. Sankarnarayanan administered the oath of office to all the six MLAs in a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in the evening.
The new entrants are Ramesh Tawadkar (BJP), Mahadev Naik (BJP), Dilip Parulekar (BJP), Milind Naik (BJP), Deepak Dhavalikar (MGP) and Avertano Furtado (Independent).
Sunday’s is the first Cabinet expansion carried out by Mr Parrikar since he was sworn in as chief minister on March 9 after a landslide victory by his party in the March 3 polls.
In the first induction, he had sworn in six ministers out of whom state forest, environment and tourism minister Mathany Saldanha died recently due to cardiac arrest.
Mr Parrikar said that one ministerial berth was still lying vacant and decision on it will be taken only by month-end.
The chief minister said that the newly-anointed ministers will be distributed portfolios by Tuesday.
All legislators, who took the oath of secrecy, are being inducted for the first time in any state Cabinet.
Except one, all are two or three timers in the state legislative Assembly.
Independent MLA Avertan Furtado, who emerged as a giant killer defeating Congress heavyweight Churchill Alemao at the hustings, managed to get the ministerial berth even though he is a first-timer in Assembly as well.