Nilesh Cabral (born 10 July 1972) is an Indian politician and a former

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

in the

Government of Goa The Government of Goa is a state government created by the Constitution of India and has executive, legislative and judicial authority of the state of Goa. It is headquartered in Panaji, the capital city of Goa. History The governor's is large ...

headed by

Manohar Parrikar Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar (13 December 1955 – 17 March 2019) was an Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party who was the Chief Minister of Goa for three terms. He also served as the Union Minister of Defence ...

. He is a member of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

and represents the Curchorem constituency in the

Goa Legislative Assembly The Goa Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the state of Goa in India. The Assembly meets at the Goa State Legislative Assembly Complex in Porvorim, Bardez. The Eighth Goa Legislative Assembly consists of 40 members. The assem ...

. Cabral had held the portfolios of Power, Non-Conventional Energy, Law & Judiciary as well as Legislative Affairs.

Personal life

Nilesh Cabral was born on 10 July 1972. An

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, Cabral earned a

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

in Mining and Mine Surveying from the

Government Polytechnic, Panaji Government Polytechnic, Panaji is a polytechnic in the state of Goa, India, offering diploma programs in engineering and technology. It is also the first polytechnic college of state of Goa. All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) an ...

in 1992. By profession, Cabral is a transport contractor as well as

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

owner. He owns several trucks and earth moving machines. He is the Chairman of the Goa Chess Association since June 2017. Cabral is a practising

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Career

Cabral was once a close confidante of

Shyam Satardekar Shyam Satardekar (born 3 March 1966 in Curchorem, Goa) is an Indian politician and member of the Goa Suraksha Manch. Satardekar was a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly from the Curchorem constituency in South Goa South Goa district is one ...

and also worked for the latter's victory in the

2007 Goa Legislative Assembly election Elections in the Indian state of Goa took place on 2 June 2007. Counting of votes began on 5 June, and the election process was completed by 8 June. Results Results by constituency By-elections Government formation Indian Nation ...

. But later, differences arose between Satardekar and Cabral. Cabral first contested the

2012 Goa Legislative Assembly election The Goa legislative assembly election was held on 3 March 2012, to select the 40 members of the Sixth Goa Legislative Assembly, as the term of 5th Goa Legislative Assembly ended in March 2012. The result was announced on 6 March. The Bharatiya ...

from

Curchorem Curchorem (Kudchade) is a city and municipal council in the South Goa district of Goa, India. Curchorem is a part of the Quepem taluka and is a twin town with Sanvordem, both located on either side of the Zuari River. The town is self-suffic ...

as a candidate of the

, defeating

of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. In 2012, Cabral was seen as an "outsider" as he did not belong to the

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...

cadre. After his victory in the

, Nilesh Cabral was appointed the Chairman of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation. He served in this position from 24 April 2012 to 9 January 2017. He successfully contested the

2017 Goa Legislative Assembly election The 2017 Goa Legislative Assembly election was held on 4 February 2017 to elect the 40 members of the Seventh Goa Legislative Assembly, as the term of Sixth Legislative Assembly ended on 18 March 2017. VVPAT-fitted EVMs was used in entire Goa ...

and was elected from the Curchorem constituency as a

candidate. He was once again appointed the Chairman of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation in April 2017 and held the post till 7 November 2018. Since 24 September 2018, Cabral is the

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

of Power, Non-Conventional Energy, Law & Judiciary as well as Legislative Affairs in the

. In 2020, Cabral said that he was ready to debate with his Delhi counterpart over the electricity models in their respective jurisdictions, and not with an official of the Delhi Jal Board. Raghav Chadha traveled from Delhi to Goa to debate; however, later on, the debate took place between Valmiki Naik and Nilesh Cabral In 2022, Cabral won the assembly election on BJP ticket from

constituency. Nilesh Cabral has resigned from the Pramod Sawant-led state cabinet 19 November 2023.

References

External links

Goa Environment Minister Responds To Protests In Goa , Faye D'Souza
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabral, Nilesh Goa MLAs 2022–2027 Living people Politicians from South Goa district Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Goa Goa MLAs 2017–2022 1972 births