Pramod Sawant, Speaker of Goa Assembly leads the race for the Chief Minister's postPanaji, Goa:  The ruling BJP's Pramod Sawant has edged ahead of rivals in the race for the Goa Chief Minister's job after Manohar Parrikar's death from cancer on Sunday evening.

Amid the nationwide outpouring of grief and condolences over Manohar Parrikar's death, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari landed in Panaji last night and held overnight meetings with alliance partners to decide on a successor and save the BJP-led coalition government as the opposition Congress staked claim to power for the second time in two days.

Here are the top 10 pointsThe names that are floating around in the search for Manohar Parrikar's successor are those of Pramod Sawant, the Goa assembly speaker, and allies Sudhin Dhawalikar and Vijay Sardesai, who head the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and the Goa Forward Party.Though the two allies are driving a hard bargain, the BJP is pushing for its own candidate.

Besides Pramod Sawant, Vishwajeet Rane was considered a possibility but the ex-Congress leader's chances are low.The BJP-led coalition government has a razor-thin majority with its allies after the death of lawmaker Francis D'Souza and the resignation of two Congress lawmakers.

The strength of the Goa Assembly stands at 36 instead of 40.

The Congress has 14 lawmakers and BJP has 13. The Goa assembly, which has 40 seats, was reduced to 36, including the Speaker, after the death of Manohar Parrikar.

BJP and its allies have 21, while Congress and its ally has 15, while four seats are vacant.In the 2017 Goa polls, when the Congress emerged as the largest party in a hung verdict, it was Nitin Gadkari who had negotiated alliances to establish a BJP-led coalition with Manohar Parrikar - then Union Defence Minister -- as chief minister.Manohar Parrikar, the BJP's tallest leader in Goa, was the most acceptable leader for the top job among the party's allies like the MGP and Goa Forward Party.

A popular Goan politician, Manohar Parrikar kept the fractious coalition running, even when he was making public appearances with a nasal tube and supported by aides, at the peak of his battle with pancreatic cancer.As reports of the Chief Minister's critical state emerged last evening, the BJP gathered all its lawmakers and prepped for tense days.

In the late night meeting of the BJP and its allies, the MGP's Sudin Dhavalikar insisted on the chief minister's post, according to BJP lawmaker Michael Lobo.Goa Forward Party chief and state minister Vijay Sardesai also sees himself as a candidate for the top job.

Of the two allies, he is seen to be more open to the idea of merging his party with the BJP for the chief minister's post.

"We discussed the broad contours of the alliance government in future.

We are in the process of finalising and nothing has been confirmed yet.

We have given our options and asked them to revert," Mr Sardesai said after meeting Nitin Gadkari.Mr Sardesai was among the ministers who had visited Manohar Parrikar yesterday as his condition was deteriorating.

He stressed that his party had strongly supported Manohar Parrikar and not the BJP.

The "options are open" now, he remarked.As the BJP struggled to keep its flock together, the Goa Congress wrote to Governor Mridula Sinha  for the second time in 48 hours, staking claim to form government in a letter that began with condolences.

"Now, after Mr Parrikar's death, BJP has no allies," the Congress wrote in its letter that urged the Governor to ensure smooth transition and transfer of power.The Congress's Digambar Kamat, a former chief minister, has been in the middle of a buzz after his sudden trip to Delhi amid reports that he was being pursued by the BJP.

He denied that he was in Delhi to meet the BJP leadership.

"My programme in Delhi was finalised 2-3 days ago, there was no question of meeting anybody.

I don't have any offers from BJP, these stories were planted by vested interests.

I'm not bothered about the leadership or the Chief Minister's post," Mr Kamat told news agency ANI.Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on TheIndianSubcontinent.com/elections.

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