Dayanand Bandodkar

Who was Dayanand Bandodkar?

Dayanand Bandodkar was the first Chief Minister of Goa after the territory was returned to India by Portugal. A wealthy mine owner, he sought to merge the territory with the state of Maharashtra. He swept the polls in 1963, 1967 and in 1972 and remained in power until his death in 1973.

His proposal however to merge with Maharashtra was met by stiff opposition by the local population. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India then offered him two options:

To retain Goa's current status as a Union Territory

To merge Goa into the neighboring state of Maharastra and the other erstwhile Portuguese enclaves of Daman and Diu into the neighbouring state of Gujarat

The move was ratified in both houses of the Indian Parliament, the Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha. It was signed into effect by the President of India, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan on 16 December 1966. An opinion poll was subsequently held on 16 January 1967 to decide the fate of the union territory which voted to retain its status as a union territory by 34,021 votes.

Bandodkar died in office on 1973-08-12 at age 62 and was succeeded by his daughter Shashikala Kakodkar.