Digambar Kamat (born 8 March 1954) is an Indian politician. He was the Chief Minister of

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

from 2007 to 2012. Manohar Parikar succeeded him after his term as the Chief Minister of Goa. From 2006 to 2019, he was the president of

Swimming Federation of India The Swimming Federation of India (SFI) is the national governing body for aquatic sports in India. Legally, it is a non-profit association registered under the ''West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1861''. The federation holds elections for it ...

. Currently, he serves as an MLA from the

Margao Margao or Madgaon is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on banks of the Sal river and is the administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district and South Goa district. It is Goa's second largest city by population ...

constituency.

Early life

Digambar was born in

. He holds a bachelor's degree in science (BSc).

Political career

Digambar Vasantrao Kamat started his career as a member of the Indian National Congress. In 1994, he joined the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

Coalition government. In 2005, he again joined the Indian National Congress to support the Margao constituency voters' referendum choice. Kamat passed the baton of leadership on 6 March 2012, to a BJP majority government in the Goa Assembly Elections held in March 2012. He retained his Margao Constituency seat and continued until 2019 as elected legislative member of Margao Constituency.

Chief Minister of Goa

He became Chief Minister of Goa in 2007.

Leader of Opposition, Goa

On 17th July 2019, Digambar Kamat was unanimously chosen a leader of opposition of Goa Legislative Assembly representing the Indian National Congress. In March 2022, he was once again elected as a legislative member of Margao Constituency. On 31st March 2022, he was appointed as a permanent invitee to the

Congress Working Committee The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is the executive committee of the Indian National Congress. It was formed in December 1920 at Nagpur session of INC which was headed by C. Vijayaraghavachariar. It typically consists of fifteen members electe ...

(CWC). In July 2022, he was removed from as the 'Permanent Invitee' to CWC.

Defection to BJP

On 14 September 2022, Kamat along with senior Congress leader

Michael Lobo Michael Lobo (born 12 September 1953) is an Indian scientist, writer, and genealogist. He is the author of three self-published books on the Catholic community in Mangalore, India. Early life and education Michael Lobo was born in Mangalore, ...

, and 6 other Congress MLAs joined

, after meeting Dr. Pramod Sawant, BJP Chief Minister of Goa. The defection was a result of a successful

Operation Kamala Operation Kamala, Operation Lotus or sometimes Operation Black Lotus is a term coined in 2008, when India's former minister G. Janardhana Reddy in the State of Karnataka, used all possible tricks (persuade, bribe, punishment, divide) to secure ...

Personal life

Digambar is married to Asha and has two children.

References

External links

Official WebsiteMGP withdraws support; Victoria quitsDigambar Kamat
Chief Ministers of Goa Living people 1954 births Corruption in Goa People from Margao Former members of Indian National Congress from Goa Goa MLAs 2022–2027 Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Goa Goa MLAs 2017–2022 {{Goa-INC-politician-stub