Pramod Sawant, who took oath as the Chief Minister of Goa for the second time on Monday, said that he would provide at least three cooking gas cylinders to every household in the state without any costs. The announcement marked the BJP politician’s first promise after being sworn in.

Sawant, 48, promised the free cylinders after charing his first meeting with the new cabinet, which so far includes eight other members.

“Chaired the first meeting after taking oath as CM. The Cabinet has decided to formulate the 3 free cylinder scheme as promised in the BJP manifesto from the new financial year”, the Goa Chief Minister wrote in a social media post.

Before the Goa Assembly elections held last month, the Bharatiya Janta Party had in its poll manifesto promised three LPG cylinders free of cost per year, if voted to power.

The Ayurveda doctor-turned-politician, in addition to solving the coastal state’s unemployment crisis, on Monday said that resumption of iron ore mining and creating employment were his priorities during the current tenure.

The manifesto released by the Bharatiya Janta Party claimed that the government would restart mining in the state within six months. Carbon-neutral policies were also promised in the same manifesto.

Meanwhile, unemployment was also at the centre of politics in Goa. The Goa Forward Party claimed before the polls that nearly 5 lakh Goans were unemployed. The coastal state has a population of about 18 lakhs.

On his opponents referring to him as an “accidental CM”, Sawant said this time he is “elected” and “not selected” as the state’s chief minister, according to reports from PTI.

Sawant had taken charge of the top post in 2019 after the death of then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

In the recently concluded Assembly elections, which the BJP fought under Sawant’s leadership, the party won 20 seats in the 40-member House.