PANAJI: Chief Minister-designate Manohar Parrikar and six other legislators would be sworn in as ministers here today.
Senior BJP leaders including L K Advani and Sushma Swaraj will attend the oath taking ceremony that is being held at the Sports Authority of Goa ground, which is expected to be packed with thousands of people.
Party sources said that seven people including Chief Minister would be taking oath during the first round this evening. The cabinet expansion would be held later after presentation of the state budget.
The first lot of ministers includes two legislators from minority community--Francis D'Souza and Matanhy Saldanha-- who were in Parrikar cabinet when his government was toppled in the year 2005.
BJP Goa unit president Laxmikant Parsekar, who got elected from Mandrem constituency, tribal leader Ramesh Tawadkar and Dayanand Mandrekar will also be taking oath.
Ramakrishna Dhavalikar, a legislator from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), will also be inducted in the cabinet today. He was transport minister in Congress-led cabinet and had resigned before March 3 polls.
MGP had fought Goa polls in alliance with the BJP.
The saffron party led by Parrikar had swept March 3 polls reducing Congress numbers to a single digit in the legislative assembly.
Also, Parrikar will chair the first ever cabinet meeting after the swearing in today.
Talking to PTI on Thursday, Parrikar had said that various issues of priority would be taken up in the first cabinet meeting.