Panaji : Goa Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar Saturday took oath as chief minister to succeed Manohar Parrikar who is becoming a union minister.

Parsekar took the oath of office and secrecy soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) succeeded in persuading Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza to accept his leadership.

Parsekar, who was unanimously elected the leader at a meeting of the BJP Legislature Party, will succeed Manohar Parrikar after he resigned earlier in the day and is set to join the Union Cabinet.

“Parsekar was elected the leader of the BJP Legislature Party unanimously,” said party general secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy, party’s observer for the election.

Parsekar, MLA from Mandrem constituency, would be sworn-in as Chief Minister at 4 PM at Raj Bhavan today.

Earlier, Parrikar faxed his resignation to Governor Mridula Sinha at Raj Bhavan. The 58-year-old technocrat- turned politician had taken over as Chief Minister in March 2012 after BJP rode to power in the coastal state.