the goan I network
VASCO
The large number of candidates in the fray did little to dent Godinho’s victory as he polled 7,234 votes, followed by Nanoskar (4740), Francisco Nunes of Congress (2752), Vasant (Gopi) Naik of AAP (1117) and Kritesh Gaunkar of NCP (1043).
The other candidates in the fray fared poorly, with independent candidates Kenneth Silveira (130), Tara Kerkar (124) and Preetam Keluskar (109) failing to make any impact. NOTA votes (168) were even higher than Suresh Barve of Niz Goenkar Revolution Front (56).
“Despite being in opposition as then Congress MLA, Godinho carried out development works, which added to his advantage. Besides, he had good rapport with the locals,” said Ramesh Naik, a resident of
New Vaddem.
Added Alex Pereira of Chicalim: “We had no choice but to vote for Godinho as others did not have the qualities of an MLA and besides we voted for Godinho and not for BJP.”
Jude Coutinho of Vaddem said it was a loss for Congress as they had underestimated Godinho, while Marida Dias of New Vaddem said they were expecting Godinho’s victory, but did not expect that he would win with such a huge margin.
Efforts to contact MGP candidate Premanand Nanoskar or his supporters proved futile as none of them wanted to comment on Nanoskar’s loss in the polls.
Nanoskar’s house at New Vaddem wore a deserted look and it was a far cry from only a few days earlier, when it was abuzz with activity.
