Goa Elections 2022: High voter turnout because people want BJP out, says Congress

Goa saw a high voter turnout of 78.94 per cent in polling for the 40 assembly seats on Monday. `There is a huge anti-incumbency wave... I think it`s going to be a very good result for Congress and we will get an absolute majority,` says AICC in-charge of Goa, Dinesh Gundu Rao

Panaji: The single-phase Assembly elections in Goa, held on Monday (February 14), saw a high voter turnout of 78.94 per cent in polling for the 40 assembly seats. The Congress party in the state said that this has made them confident that they will form the government with a full majority.

According to official data of the Chief Electoral Officer, the highest voter turnout was recorded in Sanquelim constituency with 89.61 per cent, while the lowest was in Benaulim with 70.2 per cent. Goa, which is the smallest state in the country, only has two districts --- North Goa and South Goa. North Goa registered a maximum turnout of 79 per cent, while South Goa stood at 78 per cent.

With these numbers, the Congress party assessed the political situation and the results of the Assembly elections in the state, which are to be declared on March 10. All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Goa, Dinesh Gundu Rao told ANI, "People have come up in large numbers to give a decisive vote and their expression will be seen in the results."

Analysing that there is an "anti-incumbency" wave in the BJP-ruled state, the Congress leader said, "People want BJP out... There is a huge anti-incumbency wave and that's the reason this high number of voting is taking place. I think it's going to be a very good result for Congress and we will get an absolute majority. This is what our people at the ground are also telling us," he added.

He further reasoned that the highest voter turnout in Sanquelim, where BJP had fielded Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, is because the people`s anger against him. "It shows that there is huge anger against the Chief Minister. In his constituency, we saw the Chief Minister becoming desperate and going door-to-door because he knew he was losing the elections. The high voter turnout in his constituency is a very good thing for us. Our Congress candidate will pull through in the contest," Rao said.

Congress had fielded Dharmesh Saglani against Sawant. Notably, Sawant has won from the Sanquelim seat twice. While he lost the 2008 bypoll from Pale, Sawant went on to win from the Sanquelim or Sankhali seat in 2012 and 2017. Congress is fighting the Goa polls in alliance with the Goa Forward Party (GFP).

Rao said that the alliance will turn out to be fruitful, resulting in an absolute majority. "People of Goa want a stable government and they want to give a clear mandate. This was building up a silent storm. They want to end the 'Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram' politics in the state. I am looking at 20 plus seats for us and BJP will find it very difficult to even cross a single-digit mark," Rao said.

(With ANI inputs)