MARGAO
Strange it may seem, but true that around 50 per cent of the winning candidates have made it to the Margao civic body with less than 50 per cent of the votes.
While Dipali Sawal has won the election from ward 16 with the highest percentage of votes, around 79.92 per cent to be precise, Parvati Paradkar made it from ward 24 with the lowest percentage of 29.09 per cent.
A glance at the percentage of votes polled by the winning candidates showed that around 13 out of the 25 candidates have won the election with less than 50 per cent of the total votes.
Of the remaining 12 candidates, six candidates have made it to the civic body with a percentage ranging from 50 to 60 per cent. While Dipali Sawal topped the list of candidates winning the polls with highest percentage of votes, around 79. 92 per cent, five other winning candidates won the election with 60-plus percentage.
Apart from Dipali Sawal, other winners who won the election with convincing margins were former MMC chairperson Ganashyam Shirodkar (69.89 per cent), Damodar Shirodkar (69.54 per cent), Lata Pednekar (63.28 per cent), former Chairperson Pooja Naik (65.62 per cent) and Shweta Lotllikar (61.35 per cent).
Amongst those who won the polls with a margin between 30-40 per cent include Parvati Paradkar with 29.09 per cent, Raju Naik 31.05 per cent, Mahesh Amonkar 35.48 per cent, Milagrina Gomes 36.62 per cent and Lyndon Pereira 40.62.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat has congratulated Dipali Sawal for her victory with a record margin of votes, saying the result once again shows that people’s representatives must remain accessible and connected to their electorate.
“Sawal created history by setting a new state record of winning by 1490 votes against her nearest rival. She polled total 1863 votes as against her rival candidate Anisha Mohan Naik who bagged just 373 votes in her favour,” Kamat said.
Dipali said she is indebted to Margao MLA Digambar Kamat for his co-operation and support. “He always campaigned by visiting each and every house in my ward. I will now work hard to make my ward a model for Margao and will strengthen the hands of Kamat. I thank every voter who supported me. As a councillor, I will never have any bitterness for those who did not vote for me,” she said.
