NEW DELHI, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar Monday resigned from his post to return to his home state of Goa as the Chief Minister.
"I have tendered my resignation as Defense Minister and have sent it to the PMO (Prime Minister's Office)," Parrikar told the media.
Highly placed sources said Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has accepted Parrikar's resignation after the PMO forwarded the letter to Rashtrapati Bhawan (President's official residence).
"Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to take additional charge of the defense portfolio till a full-time minister is appointed," the sources said.
According to India's official broadcaster All India Radio on Monday, Parrikar, a senior leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will be sworn in as the chief minister of the western Goa state on Tuesday.
Parrikar told reporters in Goa's capital city Panaji that BJP president Amit Shah and federal ministers Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari will attend his swearing-in ceremony.
On Sunday night, Parrikar approached Goa's governor Mridula Sinha and submitted him a letter of support from 21 legislators to stake claim for government formation. Sinha has subsequently invited Parrikar to form the next government in the coastal state.
Goa's lawmaking body has a strength of 40 legislators. In the recently held elections, no party won the majority.
Congress emerged as the largest party with 17 seats, but falls short of four seats to reach the magic mark of 21. BJP has won 13 seats and claims support of eight legislators from other parties and independents.
BJP's landslide victory in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand has emboldened the party and strengthened its position in the country's political arena. With these victories, the BJP rules in more than a dozen of India's 29 states.
Parrikar, 61, will take oath as the chief minister for the fourth time. He will have to get elected to the Goa legislature within six months. Before becoming the India's defense minister, he was chief minister of Goa.
