As voting ended for the 2022 Goa elections on Monday, 14 February, the state saw a 78.94 percent voter turnout till 6 pm for the 40 seats across the state.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of the BJP had said earlier in the day that he was confident that his party would win 22+ seats.
"North Goa has registered a maximum turnout of 79% than South Goa at 78%. In today's polling 14 EVMs and 8 ballet were replaced", Goa Chief Electoral Officer Kunal said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
North Goa: Citizens wait to cast their vote outside a polling booth at Thivim, on Monday, 14 February.
Photo: PTI
Around 11.6 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.
A total of 301 candidates are in the fray, out of which 26 are women.
The key constituencies in Goa are Panaji, Poriem, Margao, and Fartoda.
The Congress had won 17 seats in the 2017 elections, but could not form a government as the BJP, which had won 13 seats, cobbled together a coalition.
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Sanquelim Records Almost 90% Turnout
In North Goa, Sanquelim finished with the highest voter turnout at 89.64 percent.
It was followed by Bicholim at 87.84 percent.
On the other hand, in South Goa, Priol overtook Sanguem with a voter turnout of 87.73 percent as compared to the latter's 84.61 percent.
Key Candidates
Some of the candidates to watch out for in the 2022 Goa elections are the following.
Pramod Sawant (BJP): Incumbent Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is contesting the election from Sanquelim Assembly constituency in North Goa. Sawant, who has won the seat twice in 2012 and 2017, has been pitted against Congress' Dharmesh Saglani.
Digambar Kamat (Congress): The current Leader of the Opposition in Goa, Kamat was the chief minister of the state from 2007 to 2012 and was succeeded by BJP's Manohar Parrikar. A seven-time MLA, he is contesting from the Margao constituency as a Congress candidate. Up against Kamat in Margao is the state's Deputy Chief Minister Babu Azgaonkar.
Elvis Gomes (AAP): Former AAP state-convener and bureaucrat Elvis Gomes made headlines when he joined the Congress in 2021. Gomes has been fielded against BJP heavyweight Atanasio Monserrate in the capital city of Panaji.
Sanquelim and Sanguem Lead Voter Turnout at 5 PM
In North Goa, Sanquelim, at 88.07 percent, led the voter turnout at 5 pm.
It was followed by Bicholim at 83.54 percent.
In South Goa, Sanguem reported the highest voter turnout at 5 pm at 84.61 percent, with Priol just behind at 84.50 percent.
BJP's First Post-Parrikar Election
This will be the first Assembly election for the BJP after the death of its stalwart former chief minister Manohar Parrikar – largely credited for being the architect of the party in Goa.
Son of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, Utpal Parrikar, quit the BJP after local heavyweight Atanasio Monserrate was given the ticket in Panaji.
Parrikar junior will now be contesting as an Independent from the capital city.
The Congress, on the other hand, will be looking to course-correct and avoid mistakes of the past; in 2017, the party was unable to form the government despite emerging as the single largest party in the state with 17 seats.
Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), meanwhile, has made steady inroads in the state and has entered the battlefield with a chief ministerial face (Amit Palekar) this time around.
Read the full analysis here.