Counting will be held on March 10.
Gomantak Times
Campaigning came to an end on Saturday evening for the 40 Assembly seats of Goa going to polls on February 14 with a host of campaigners, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former union minister P Chidambaram holding a series of series and conduction door-to-door campaign for their party candidates.
Electioneering, which drew to a close at 6 pm in accordance with the Election Commission's (EC) guidelines, was affected for the most part by COVID-19 restrictions, including a ban on physical rallies, forcing the political parties to resort to virtual rallies and scaled-down door-to-door campaigns.
However, the ban on physical rallies was lifted in a phased manner by the EC from February 1 onwards.
A total of 301 candidates are in the fray for 40 constituencies. Besides the candidates of the BJP, Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Goa Forward Party (GFP), Trinamool Congress Party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), NCP, Shiv Sena, Revolutionary Goans, Goencho Swabhimaan Party, Jai Mahabharat Party and Sambhaji Brigade, there are 68 Independent candidates. The Independents include rebels from the main political parties. Counting will be held on March 10.
The BJP, which has not entered into any pre-poll alliance, is trying to retain power in the coastal state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah among others campaigned for the BJP in Goa in the last one month. Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is the BJP's election in-charge in the state.
Congress has fielded 37 candidates while its ally GFP has fielded three. Senior Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi campaigned for the party in the coastal state. Former Union finance minister P Chidambaram has been looking after Congress' poll strategy along with senior leader Dinesh Gundu Rao. Congress had won 17 seats in the 2017 elections and emerged as the largest single party, but could not form government as the BJP cobbled together a coalition quicker. In the last five years, many Congress MLAs deserted the party, reducing its strength to two MLAs.
The AAP is contesting on 39 seats. During the campaign, the party's National Convener Arvind Kejriwal promised to replicate the "Delhi Model in Goa and provide corruption-free government.
Mamata Banerjee-led TMC is the latest entrant in Goa's electoral politics. The TMC is contesting the election in alliance with the MGP, the oldest political party in the state.
While TMC is contesting on 26 seats, the MGP is contesting on 13.
The NCP and Shiv Sena have entered into a pre-poll alliance. While the Sena is contesting on 11 seats, the NCP is contesting on 13.
Revolutionary Goans, has fielded 38 candidates while Goench Swambhimaan Party has fielded four. Jai Mahabharat Party has fielded six and Sambhaji Brigade three candidates.
But the highlight of this election could be Independent candidates like Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, Utpal Parrikar, Laxmikant Parsekar and Savitri Kavlekar. Lourenco, a former working president of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, joined the TMC only to leave it within a month, and could not get reentry in Congress.
Utpal Parrikar, the son of late BJP stalwart Manohar Parrikar, is contesting from Panaji as Independent after the BJP denied him ticket from the seat. Parsekar, a former chief minister who is contesting from Mandrem, and Kavlekar, who is contesting from Sanguem, too had been denied ticket by the BJP. Savitri Kavlekar's husband Chandrakant Kavlekar is currently deputy chief minister. He is contesting on a BJP ticket from Quepem