Goa Assembly Polls: Here are key candidates to watch out for on February 14

New Delhi: Political campaigning for the single phased Goa assembly election, which will decide the fate of several key state leaders, including some cabinet ministers, ends on Sunday as the state is set to vote for a fresh assembly on February 14. 

Among the key contenders for the Goa assembly polls is the incumbent Chief Minister Parmod Sawant, son of late Goa CM and BJP veteran late Manohar Parrikar, famous activist and AAP CM face Amit Palekar among many others. 

Here is a list of key candidates for the Goa Assembly Elections to watch out for: 

Pramod Sawant 

A long time MLA from Goa’s Sanquelim constituency, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Sawant, is the 13th chief minister of Goa. Sawant is BJP’s CM candidate for Goa Assembly Elections 2022. 

Sawant succeeded the CM seat in 2019 after the death of veteran leader late Manohar Parrikar 

The BJP leader also served as the spokesperson of the Goa unit of the saffron party. Later in 2017, he was re-elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly from the same constituency and on 22 March 2017, he was elected as the Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly. 

Sawant, who enjoys massive popularity and is regarded as an unassuming MLA by his constituents, won two terms without any former electoral career. 

Utpal Parrikar 

Son of veteran BJP leader and former Defence Minister of India, Manohar Parrikar, Utpal Parrikar came into prominence post his father’s death when he stepped foot into politics. 

The leader recently made headlines after he quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after being denied the ticket from his late father’s Panaji constituency, which is believed to be a BJP bastion since the early 1990s, all thanks to late Manohar Parrikar. 

Utpal Parrikar announced that he will contest the 2022 Assembly polls as an independent candidate from Panaji. 

Amit Palekar 

Amit Palekar, Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Chief Ministerial candidate for the Goa Assembly Polls 2022 is a new entrant in politics and is hailed as a leader devoted to development by his party. 

A lawyer-turned-politician, Palekar belongs to the OBC Bhandari community, which is seen as another brownie point for Arvind Kejriwal’s party to woo 35% of the population in Goa as the community feels long ignored under the BJP regime. 

Palekar’s political career began in October 2021 when he joined AAP and was introduced by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal as an ‘honest worthy man. 

Michael Lobo 

Congress leader Michael Lobo is fighting elections from the Calangute assembly seat for the third time. Lobo won the Calangute seat on a BJP ticket in 2012 for the first time and retained the same seat in the year 2017.  

However, he switched sides last month and became a Congress member. This time, Lobo is contesting elections from the Calangute seat on a Congress ticket. 

Lobo initially served as the Deputy Speaker in the last Assembly but resigned later to be inducted as a minister in the government in July 2019.