POWER TO RECKON WITH: A triumphant Babush Monserrate along with supporters and winning candidates from his panel after the results were declared on Friday.
PANAJI
The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) elections delivered a decisive verdict on Friday with the panel backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Babush Monserrate winning 27 of the 30 wards, reaffirming the Panaji MLA's grip on the capital’s civic body.
The rival Ami Panjekar panel, backed by Utpal Parrikar, managed to win only three seats with even its mayoral candidate and veteran councillor Surendra Furtado, was defeated.
Furtado, who has served seven terms, had never lost a civic election since he had first got elected as councillor of the then Panjim Municipal Council in 1985. He lost to BJP-Babush panel's Kabhir Makhija in Ward 9.
There was however consolation for the Furtados with Leonido Furtado, winning comfortably in Ward 7.
Counting began on Friday at 8 am at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium and early trends pointed to a Babush sweep. By 12:30 pm, most of his candidates were declared winners.
Voting had taken place on March 11. The turnout stood at 69.07 percent, slightly lower than the previous election in 2021.
The Ami Panjekar panel had campaigned on issues linked to casinos, while Babush’s team highlighted development works carried out over the past five years.
Recounts in 3 wards
Recounts were sought and held in three wards -- 10, 17, and 29. After the process, Prasad Amonkar (Ward 10), Jack Sukhija (Ward 17), and Liberta Mendes (Ward 29) were confirmed as winners.
The contest in ward 17 turned out to be a cliff-hanger. Jack Sukhija, a scion of Goa's iconic yesteryear political figure Dr Jack de Sequeira, ended with a slender 3-vote lead after the first count. His opponent Edward Jorge, the incumbent councillor then sought a recount which was granted. In two recounts, one additional vote was declared invalid and Sukhija was declared winner with a 2-vote margin securing 343 votes to Jorge's 341.
Babush's five-in-a-row win
Incidentally, this is the fifth successive time that Monserrate has managed to win a CCP election since the capital city's civic body was upgraded to a Corporation from the erstwhile Panjim Municipal Council in the early 2000s.
In the first CCP election held in 2006, he won a majority of the wards in the 30-member Corporation. Next he repeated the performance in 2011. During both these elections, he was with the Congress as a minister in the Pratapsing Rane and Digambar Kamat governments.
Then in 2016, Monserrate again won a majority while he was an unattached MLA following his expulsion from the Congress.
Again in 2021, his panel won a majority while he was a minister in the BJP's Pramod Sawant government. Today, he made it five wins in a row again as a minister in the Sawant government.
A vote for triple-engine: CM
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant hailed the verdict. “The people have once again reposed faith in our commitment to Panaji’s development. We remain dedicated to good governance, progress, and public service,” he said.
Babush Monserrate thanked the BJP for backing his leadership. “Even with the opposition united, they could not defeat us. No one should take voters for granted,” he remarked.
Result highlights
The highest tally (votes polled) was recorded by Tukaram Chinnannavar in Ward 11, who polled 713 votes and won by a margin of 457. The lowest tally of votes were of an independent candidate Shivdas Raikar in Ward 24 who polled just 12 votes.
Notable winners
Among the notable winners were outgoing Mayor Rohit Monserrate (Ward 4), Leonid Furtado, son of Surendra Furtado (Ward 7), Karina Shirodkar (Ward 8), Kabir Makhija (Ward 9), ex-Mayor Uday Madkaikar (Ward 13), Jack Sukhija (Ward 17), ex-Mayor Vithal Chopdekar (Ward 27) and Rupesh Halarnkar (Ward 28).
The verdict cements Babush's dominance in Panaji’s civic politics and with 27 seats under his control, his panel is set to steer the city’s municipal affairs for another term with his son Rohit tipped to be mayor again.
The election, which was closely watched across Goa, underscores the continuing strength of the BJP-backed Monserrate leadership in the capital.
For Panaji’s residents, meanwhile, it marks another term of five years where day-to-day living conditions will beg for attention from their civic body.
