Dayanand Balkrishna Bandodkar served as the first Chief Minister of Goa. He was affectionately referred to as ‘Bhausaheb’. Hence, it is not surprising when Goan children often refer to him as Bhausaheb Bandodkar instead of Dayanand Bandodkar. Bhausaheb served as the Chief Minister of Goa from 1963 to 1973 while representing the Maharastrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP). He was born on March 12, 1911.
His tenure was widely controversial when he supported the idea to merge Goa into the Indian state of Maharashtra. In fact, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had granted Goa the right to hold a referendum over the same issue in 1967.
Bhau’s side lost the referendum even after campaigning heavily. However the MGP under Bhausaheb’s leadership managed to sweep the assembly polls held soon after the referrendum. Dayanand Bandodkar passed away on August 12, 1973 at the age of 62. He was succeeded by his daughter Shashikala Kakodkar as the Chief Minister of Goa.
