MARGAO
Saxttikars once again rallied behind a united Opposition in the Zilla Panchayat elections, mirroring the voting pattern seen in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress–Goa Forward Party (GFP) combine registered a resounding victory in Salcete, winning eight of the nine seats at stake.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had emerged as a key challenger to the Congress in the minority-dominated taluka, suffered a major setback, managing to secure only the Colva seat. The Arvind Kejriwal–led party lost in the remaining seven seats it contested, including the crucial Benaulim and Velim constituencies—both represented by AAP MLAs Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva in the Goa Legislative Assembly.
The BJP, too, faced a humiliating defeat in Salcete, losing all three seats it contested. These included Guirdolim and Davorlim—both of which the ruling party had won in the 2020 Zilla Panchayat elections. The Revolutionary Goans Party and the Nationalist Congress Party, which contested four and three seats respectively, failed to open their accounts.
Several heavyweight Independent candidates were also shown the door by voters. Among those defeated were former Zilla Panchayat chairpersons Nelly Rodrigues and Maria Rebello, as well as members of the influential Dominic Gaonkar family, which lost the Raia seat after representing it for two decades.
The Congress surge in its traditional stronghold resulted in the party winning seven seats, while the Goa Forward Party opened its account in Salcete for the first time by securing the Raia seat.
While the BJP–MGP alliance is poised to return to power at the South Goa Zilla Panchayat, the Congress can draw considerable satisfaction from delivering a severe blow to the BJP in Salcete, where the ruling dispensation lost all three seats it contested.
The Congress victory was particularly emphatic, echoing its strong performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when Saxttikars rallied behind Captain Viriato Fernandes to secure the party’s win in South Goa. The party more than doubled its tally in Salcete.
In addition to retaining Nuvem, Curtorim, and Velim, the Congress asserted its supremacy in traditional BJP strongholds such as Guirdolim and Davorlim after more than a decade. The win in Benaulim is seen as especially significant, marking what party leaders believe is the first time in nearly two decades that the Congress has regained dominance in the constituency. The party also wrested back Navelim after a long gap, overcoming challenges from both the AAP and the BJP.
AAP’s decision to contest independently, seemingly to test its electoral strength, appears to have backfired, as the party failed to make an impact across the Salcete countryside.
AAP’s solitary victory in Colva came as little more than a consolation amid a string of defeats. Its failure to retain Benaulim and capture Velim—both Assembly segments represented by AAP MLAs—is likely to trigger serious introspection within the party leadership.
