Dayanand Balkrishna Bandodkar (12 March 1911 – 12 August 1973) and popularly known as Bhausaheb Bandodkar was the first Chief Minister of Goa, in the territory of

Goa, Damaon& Diu Goa, Daman and Diu (, ) was a union territory of the Republic of India established in 1961 following the annexation of Portuguese India, with Maj Gen K P Candeth as its first Military Governor. The Goa portion of the territory was granted full ...

. Born in

Pernem Pernem or Pedne (pronounced ) is a town and a municipal council in North Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. It is the capital of the Pernem Sub-District Geography Pernem is one of the twelve sub-districts of Goa. Pernem sub-district ...

to a

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

family who had immigrated from

Tuljapur Tuljapur is a town with a municipal council in Osmanabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative seat of Tuljapur taluka. Tuljapur is the location of the annual Tulja Bhavani fair during Navaratri (September– ...

, he became a wealthy mine owner following the

Annexation of Goa The Annexation of Goa was the process in which the Republic of India annexed ', the then Portuguese Indian territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, starting with the armed action carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in December 1961. In Indi ...

. He sought to merge the territory with the state of Maharashtra. He swept the polls in 1963, 1967 and in 1972 while representing the

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party ( MGP) was Goa's first ruling party after the end of Portuguese rule in Goa in 1961. In the first elections held after the Annexation of Goa by India, it ascended to power in December 1963 and stayed in power ...

(MGP) and remained in power until his death in 1973. Bandodkar was a member of the ''Kalawantin'' community (now known as Gomantak Maratha Samaj in Goa).Goa world book review
His proposal to merge Goa with Maharashtra was met with stiff opposition from the native

Goans Goans ( kok, गोंयकार, Romi Konkani: , pt, Goeses) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, who form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Indo-Portuguese, a ...

. Indira Gandhi, the then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India ( IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of th ...

then offered him two options: #To retain Goa's current status as a Union Territory #To merge Goa into the neighboring state of Maharashtra and the other erstwhile Portuguese enclaves of

Daman and Diu Daman and Diu (; ) was a former union territory in northwestern India. With an area of , it was the smallest administrative subdivision of India on the mainland. The territory comprised two districts, Damaon and Dio island, geographically se ...

into the neighbouring state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...

A law to conduct a referendum to decide the issue of merger or otherwise of Goa, Daman and Diu with Maharashtra/Gujarat was passed by both the houses of the

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

, the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-pas ...

(on 1 December 1966), and the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, wikisource:Constitution of India/Part V#Article 80, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legisl ...

(on 7 December 1966 and the same received the assent of the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975), natively Radhakrishnayya, was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He served as the 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967. He also 1st Vice President of India from 1952 ...

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 separate status by 34,021 votes.

Death

Bandodkar died in office on 12 August 1973 at age 62 and was succeeded by his daughter

Shashikala Kakodkar Shashikala Kakodkar (7 January 1935 – 28 October 2016), popularly known as ''Tai'' ( mr, ताई; ), was a prominent leader of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). She served as the Chief Minister of Goa, Daman and Diu on two occasio ...

. Three years after his death his son married the actress

Leena Chandavarkar Leena Chandavarkar (born 29 August 1950) is an Indian former actress who appeared in Bollywood movies as a leading actress and now appears in reality shows. She was an actress during the late 60s and early 70s. She played leading heroine opposit ...

. He died at the age of 25 years on 7 November 1976.

Tenures

#20 December 1963 – 2 December 1966 (3 years) #5 April 1967 – 23 March 1972 (5 years) #23 March 1972 – 12 August 1973 (1.5 years)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandodkar, Dayanand Chief Ministers of Goa 1911 births 1973 deaths Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party politicians People from Mapusa Businesspeople from Goa Chief ministers from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party Goa, Daman and Diu MLAs 1972–1977 Goa, Daman and Diu MLAs 1967–1972 Goa, Daman and Diu MLAs 1963–1967