It was political knockout in the capital. The BJP-backed panel led by Atanasio “Babush” Monser rate on Friday cemented its dominance by sweeping 27 of 30 wards in the Corpo ration of the City of Panaji (CCP) elections. Stopping short of a clean sweep, the “Ami Panjekar” panel managed to win the remaining three. From the Babush panel, Yutika Zambaulikar emerged victorious in Ward 1, Car olina Po (Ward 2), Marga rida Fernandes (Ward 3), Rohit Monserrate (Ward 4), Kishore Sastry (Ward 5), Bento Lorena (Ward 6), Ka reena Shirodkar (Ward 8), Kabir Pinto Makhija (Ward 9), Prasad Amonkar (Ward 10), Tukaram Chinanawar (Ward 11), Varsha Shetye (Ward 12), Uday Madkai kar (Ward 13), Prajyot Vai gankar (Ward 14), Shayani Chopdekar (Ward 15), Asmi ta Kerkar (Ward 16), Krishna Shirodkar (Ward 18), Nikita Naik (Ward 19), Shubham Chodankar (Ward 20), Man isha Manerkar (Ward 21), Diksha Mainkar (Ward 22), Vidhya Gadkar (Ward 23), Karan Parekh (Ward 24), Kirti Sakhalkar (Ward 25), Vasant Agshikar (Ward 26), Vithal Chopdekar (Ward 27), Rupesh Halankar (Ward 28) and Silvestre Fernandes (Ward 30).
From the Ami Panjekar panel, Leonid Furtado secured victory in Ward 7, Jack Sukhija (Ward 17) and Liberata Mendes E Achari (Ward 29). Reacting to the results, Babush Monserrate said, “The outcome sends a clear message that even a united opposi tion could not defeat the BJP in Panjim.” He thanked the party leadership and voters for their sup port. “I owe this win to the party,” Monserrate said, expressing disappointment over losing three wards. He said the panel had aimed to win all 30 seats in the civic body. “I am disappointed that we lost three seats, as I was con fident of winning all. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party has still won several seats and even the entire opposition failed to defeat the BJP, despite an opposition MP coming and dancing in the ward. I thank BJP, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Damu Naik and all supporters. No one should take voters for granted—people are the real king,” Monserrate said. Meanwhile, State BJP President Damu Naik said the re sults reaffirm people’s faith in the party. “After the Zilla Panchayat elections, this is another elec tion in which people have shown faith in the BJP. It is for the betterment of Panjim and Goa. We are confident that the upcoming by-election too will give us similar results,” Naik said. Chief Minister Sawant said, “The BJP’s victory in the CCP elections reflects the trust people have in the party.” He described the CCP results as only a “trailer” and ex pressed confidence that the BJP will win 30 seats in the 2027 Goa Assembly elections. The Chief Minister also congratulated the BJP-led panel candidates on their re sounding victory. He said, “The people of Panjim have once again rejected the politics of obstruction and negativity.” He congratulat ed Monserrate for his leadership in guiding the campaign along with the winning councillors whose hard work and dedication made the victory possible. The election also witnessed some high-profile defeats, including former mayor Surendra Furtado, who lost Ward 9 to BJP-backed candidate Kabir Makhija. Commenting on his defeat, Furtado said, “The people of Panjim have decided that I should not be elected. I respect their verdict and the fate they have chosen for us.” Despite the overwhelming win for the BJP-backed panel, the Ami Panjekar panel supported by Utpal Parrikar man aged to secure three wards. Parrikar noted that the panel received around 6,000 votes in the CCP elections, similar to what he had secured in the last Assembly elections from Panjim. He added that the team formed under the Ami Pan jekar panel will continue to carry forward its work.
