Goa Polls: BJP`s work in 10 yrs and PM Modi`s self-reliant vision will help us, says CM Pramod Sawant

In Goa, 301 candidates are in the fray for the 40 Assembly seats, election officials said. Over 11 lakh people are eligible to cast their votes. The chief minister said that PM Narendra Modi called him in the morning today to give his best wishes

Goa: Voting began in Goa at 7 am today as the state dived in the Assembly Election 2022 with full enthusiasm. 301 candidates are in the fray for the 40 Assembly seats, election officials said. Over 11 lakh people are eligible to cast their votes. 

The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is challenged by Congress, Trinamool Congress and Aam Admi Party (AAP) in a multi-cornered electoral contest in Goa. Notably, this is the first electoral fray for the BJP without Parrikar. However, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is confident of BJP's victory. "PM Narendra Modi called me in the morning today to give his best wishes. I'm fully confident that BJP will win 22+ seats. The infrastructure development by BJP in 10 years and PM Modi's self-reliant vision will definitely benefit us with a 100% majority."

There has been some discontent within BJP as Manohar Parrikar's son, Utpal, resigned from the BJP after he was denied a ticket from the Panaji Assembly constituency. The Panaji Assembly seat has its own importance in the electoral politics of the state. Former Union Minister for Defence Manohar Parrikar, who had represented Panaji, had been a three-term Chief Minister of the state. Now Utpal is seeking to carry the legacy of his father in the Panaji Assembly constituency as an Independent candidate.

The prominent candidates in today's Goa polls include Chief Minister Pramod Sawant (BJP), Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat (Congress), former CMs Churchill Alemao (TMC), Ravi Naik (BJP), Laxmikant Parsekar (independent), former deputy CMs Vijai Sardesai (GFP) and Sudin Dhavalikar (MGP), late CM Manohar Parrikar's son Utpal Parrikar and AAP's CM face Amit Paleker. 

The Congress and the Goa Forward Party (GFP) are fighting the election in alliance, while the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has tied-up with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) to contest the polls. The Shiv Sena and the NCP had also announced their pre-poll alliance, while the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is contesting without a tie-up with any other political party. The Revolutionary Goans, Goencho Swabhimaan Party, Jai Mahabharat Party and Sambhaji Brigade are also in the poll fray, besides 68 independent candidates.

 The state had recorded 82.56 per cent turnout during the 2017 elections. The Congress then won 17 seats. The BJP, which bagged 13 seats, was quick to stitch up an alliance with some regional outfits and independents to form government in the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah campaigned in the last one month for the saffron party, which has not entered into any pre-poll alliance in Goa. For Congress, which has fielded 37 candidates, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigned for the party in the coastal state.