Goa

SAWANT SHUTS DOWN DETRACTORS WITH THUMPING ZILLA WIN

BJP wins 33 seats out of 49 to head ZPs in North and South Goa; Independents finish second; Congress decimated with just four seats; MGP wins three

Herald Team

Team Herald

PANJIM: In the final analysis, the protests, agitations, dharnas had no bearing on the prospects of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the saffron-brigade swept the Zilla Parishad elections held in the State amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

With polling at just 56 per cent, the BJP won 33 seats – 19 in North Goa and 14 in South Goa. The party had contested 41 seats.

Independents were second in the tally with seven seats (five in North and two in South), followed by Congress 4 (one in North and three in South). The Congress had contested 37 seats.

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), which had contested 17 seats, managed to win three seats, while NCP accounted for one seat.

While Goa Forward Party (GFP) did not field any candidate, the party backed candidate Kavita Kandolkar won the Thivim seat.

The elections, were considered a litmus test for Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and the BJP as both were in the eye of storm in the recent times due to development projects at Mollem – double tracking of railway line, 400kV transmission line and the widening of NH4A. Besides, the government handling of the Mhadei water diversion issue, mining, unemployment had also been raised. 

However, the Chief Minister and his government appear to have weathered the storm with a thumping majority to prove the detractors wrong. What was even more shocking was BJP winning the Davorlim and Guirdolim seats, which were at the centre of the double-tracking protests.

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