70.19 % voters turn up for CCP polls

PANJIM: The fate of 95 candidates contesting for the Corporation City of Panjim (CCP) election was sealed on Saturday evening, with a total voting turnout of 70.19% that is lesser than the 74.8 voter turnout percentage of the 2016 CCP elections. Out of the 22,495 people that cast their votes, the 11657 female voters outnumbered the 10838 male voters.
The voting percentage in each wards were as follow: Ward 1 – 63.46 %; 2 – 75.82%; 3 – 62.46%; 4- 59.66%; 5 – 52.87%; 6 – 59.98%; 7 – 59.94%; 8 – 66.15%; 9 – 69.07%; 10 – 77.43%; 11 – 89.29%; 12 – 69.66%; 13 – 77.16%; 14 – 80.42 %; 15 – 85.76%; 16- 67.98%; 17- 56.72%; 18 – 72.65%; 19 – 82.65%; 20 – 72.86%; 21 – 81.96%; 22 – 73.42%; 23 – 80.92%; 24 – 65.08%; 25 – 64.81%; 26 – 66.45%; 27- 65.20 %; 28- 79.80 %; 29- 67.66 %; and 30 – 75.56%.
With both the big panels, the one backed by BJP and the other ‘We Ponjekar’ group, claiming that they are confident of forming the next council, the voting in Panjim was a smooth affair with no major untoward incident reported.
The midnight arrests in ward 6 however became a talking point with the ‘We Ponjekar’ candidate Surendra Furtado accusing his rivals of trying to frame him.
This view was endorsed by candidates who were fighting BJP candidates. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Valmiki Naik alleged that flying squads were being sent whenever We Ponjekar candidates and supporters were merely meeting.
He questioned why the panel backed by Panjim MLA Babush Monserrate had to resort to such tactics given their repeated claims of winning all 30 seats.
Ex-BJP member and former corporator Menino Da Cruz added that going Babush’s prediction of winning all seats, any loss of seats would be a major embarrassment. Da Cruz who had earlier hit out at the BJP for letting down loyal party workers in the city, said he is expecting a good fight and that 15-16 non-BJP candidates could win.
Another ex-corporator Rupesh Halankhar who resigned from BJP in 2018 said the BJP government had created a mess in the three wards of Ribandar, failing to meet its promises. Halankar who is contesting as an independent and supporting two candidates in other wards said he expects all three to emerge triumphant at the polls.
However, the BJP candidates, from Ribandar and across the capital city, were very enthusiastic in their assertion that the prediction of the Panjim MLA would materialise.
Former Mayor Uday Madkaikar, who contested this election from Ward 14, said the biggest difference between both panels was that theirs can deliver on their promises and the opposition cannot. Referring to what he claimed was their proven track record, he questioned why the former corporators who were part of the We Ponjekar panel never raised the issues they now promise to act on, during their tenure.
There was a different kind of tussle in some wards like former supporters of Babush going ahead the BJP candidates supported by the MLA. This was seen in ward 3 where Babush’s son Rohit Monserrate was contesting against Jose Martins.
While Martins was quite critical of the bad condition of his ward, Rohit had a different view and felt the feedback he received from the ward led him to believe he would win the election.  A stark contrast to other wards was the kind of bonhomie equation between Rohit and Jose who indulged in banter as opposed to verbally attacking each other. Rohit whose mother is Taleigao MLA Jennifer Monserrate, also said he is not interested in contesting the assembly elections but would be interested in the post of Mayor if given the opportunity but that he would leave it to the party to decide. Jose pointed out he had supported Babush for years but his supporters were not happy with recent developments and thus backed him to contest the elections.
Prominent figures from outside Panjim were also seen keeping tabs on the situation such as St Cruz MLA Tony Fernandes who was seen zipping through Bhatlem on his Bullet motorcycle.
On a lighter note, the elections also saw a lot of senior citizens meeting up after ages, having not moved out of their houses out of fear out of COVID. There were also a lot of first time voters who were quite excited about the voting experience.