PANJIM, NOV 1
People in the urban areas seems to have voted for a change as several new faces were voted to power in most municipal councils thus showing the door to many of the sitting councillors.
The polls saw as many as 72 per cent new faces voted to the new municipal bodies. A total of 99 new faces were elected in 134 wards in eleven councils.
Leading the winds of change were the Canacona voters, who elected all the new faces to the 10-member Canacona Municipal Council.
Chairperson Shyamsunder Dessai and outgoing deputy chairperson Dilip Kenkre were shown the door by electorates.
In Sanguem Municipal Council, only four sitting councillors have been re-elected while six new faces emerged victorious.
Margao elected 17 candidates in a total of 20 wards.
In Mapusa seven new faces were elected while 8 sitting councillors retained their seats.
However, Mapusa electorate gave a fractured mandate, as no panel could secure absolute majority. The panel supported by Mapusa BJP MLA Francis D’Souza suffered a setback.
The 10-member Cuncolim Council will have eight new councillors for the next tenure.
In Quepem Municipal Council, legislator Chandrakant Kavlekar claimed that all the councillors elected are affiliated to the Congress party.
As many as five new faces have been elected to the 10-member QMC.
In Bicholim Municipal Council, six new faces have been elected to the 10-member BMC while only two sitting councillors could make it to the new body.
The fate of the 9 sitting councillors in Pernem Municipal Council was also similar to other councils as eight new faces have been elected to the 10-member council, as only one sitting councillor was re-elected. Elections were deferred in one ward in Pernem due to want of suitable candidate.
The 10-member Valpoi Municipal Council elected as many as seven new faces.
In the 12-member Curchorem-Cacora Municipal Council, as many as seven sitting councillors have regained power either directly or through their spouses.
In Mormugao Municipal Council, 12 new faces have been elected. Revenue Minister Jose Philip D’Souza’s wife Neny and elder brother Pascoal won with comfortable margins.
