Panaji: Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Pramod Sawant took oath as the Chief Minister of Goa in a ceremony held at 2 am today, as the saffron party managed to keep its allies together after hectic negotiations all through the day. Sawant will have two deputies — unprecedented for the tiny seaside State. One is from the MGP and the other from the Goa Forward Party.

The 45-year-old Sawant took over from former Defence Minister and four-time CM of Goa Manohar Parrikar, who was cremated at the Miramar beach yesterday. The crucial transition of power in the coastal State necessitated by Parrikar’s death on Sunday capped frenzied political developments, with the Congress too staking claim to power.

Sawant’s swearing-in ceremony was initially scheduled to be held at 11 pm on Monday but it was pushed to 2 am with the allies seeking to extract their pound of flesh. The new Government has two Deputy Chief Ministers, Goa Forward Party Chief Vijai Sardesai and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLA Sudin Dhavalikar, from the two small parties backing BJP.

Sawant, along with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, went to stake claim to form the Government after midnight as power-sharing talks with the alliance partners continued till late. The new CM said that the party had given him a huge responsibility, and gave credit to Parrikar for his rise.

“Whatever I am today is all due to Manohar Parrikar. It was he who brought me to politics. I became the Speaker and the CM today, due to him,” he said after meeting the Governor.

Sawant was elected leader of the BJP Legislature party at a meeting held in the State capital minutes after Parrikar was given a State funeral with full military honours. BJP Chief Amit Shah and Gadkari met the Legislators before the formal resolution was passed.