Amid rumours that he is set to resign from the Goa cabinet, Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira on Wednesday acknowledged there was “some truth” to the reports which suggested that he will tender his resignation due to “personal reasons”.
Sequeira, who is also holding Law and Judiciary, Legislative Affairs and Captain of Ports portfolios, told the media, “There is some truth, but I am yet to submit the resignation. I am toying with the idea, but I am yet to take a final decision.”
On the reasons for his resignation, if and when it happens, he said, “Basically personal reasons.”
Party sources said Sequeira could submit his resignation to the Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant later on Wednesday. In case of his exit, two cabinet berths will fall vacant, paving the way for a cabinet reshuffle in the coastal state. In June, former Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude was dropped from the cabinet after he levelled corruption allegations in the department of Tribal Welfare, a portfolio held by Sawant.
If he steps down, Sequeira is likely to be replaced in the cabinet by the former chief minister and Margao MLA Digambar Kamat. Sequeira and Kamat were among the group of eight turncoat MLAs who switched over to the BJP in September 2022. Sources said the Speaker of the Goa legislative assembly, Ramesh Tawadkar, is also expected to be inducted in the cabinet. Tawadkar, a senior tribal leader, is likely to resign from the Speaker’s post on Thursday, according to party sources.
Sawant, who is in Delhi for a meeting of the group of state ministers (GoM) on GST-related issues, is expected to return to the state late on Wednesday or Thursday. Speculations about a cabinet rejig in the state have been rife for several months. Last week, BJP state president Damodar ‘Damu’ Naik hinted at the possibility, saying the reshuffle could take place before the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. This would be the second reshuffle in the Sawant-led government since the BJP retained power and formed the government in the 2022 assembly elections.
Former Congress veteran Sequeira, who represents Catholic-dominated Nuvem constituency, was inducted into the cabinet in November 2023, a decision explained by the party as fulfilment of a “promise” and a “commitment” made when he joined the party.
Sequeira has been in and out of the hospital in the past few months. He has also faced flak from the BJP for the party’s dismal performance in Salcete – the district’s most populous taluka, which has a majority Christian population – in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The party polled fewer votes than the Congress in seven out of eight assembly segments in Salcete and lost the South Goa constituency by 13,535 votes.
On the sidelines of a party meeting of the core committee and legislators in January, the former BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Sadanand Shet Tanavade seemed to rebuke Sequeira, claiming he “must introspect” whether he “fit” into the party’s system and must ponder whether he wanted to contest the 2027 assembly election on a BJP ticket. Tanavade later played down his remarks, saying he was responding to a question on the party failing to achieve 50 per cent enrolment in some constituencies in a membership drive.
