PANAJI
There was relatively high voter interest in the civic elections in Ponda and Sanquelim with the two towns registering a more than expected turnouts at 74.66% in the former and a whopping 87.56% in the latter.
Apart from the local civic issues involved, political observers say the personal political prestige of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in Sanquelim and Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik in Ponda was a factor that possibly contributed to the high voter interest and turnout.
Both Sawant and Naik had won their respective assembly seats by extremely low margins, the former by some 600-odd votes and Naik by as slim a margin as 77 votes.
Polling to elect 13 councillors to the Ponda Municipal Council and 10 in Sanquelim began at 8 am on Friday and ended at 5 pm. Two councillors each have been already elected unopposed in both these civic bodies.
Polling officials said, there were no untoward incidents apart from minor verbal confrontations between rival candidates in some wards throughout the polling hours.
Counting is slated to be taken up on Sunday and the results are expected to be declared the same day.
In one of the 10 wards of Sanquelim -- Ward XII -- recorded a whopping 96 per cent turnout and enthusiasm was seen right from the morning session.
Meanwhile in ward six a Congress leader who was carrying cash amount of Rs 40,000, was taken into custody, according to Police Inspector Suraj Gawas. Also, locals said there was a confrontation between voters and the candidates at one place, but the issue got quickly resolved.
At Ponda, the highest turnout in terms of percentage of eligible voters was from Ward-1 which recorded 81.03 % polling. Also, the level of enthusiasm among voters was rather low in ward no. 13 although it eventually recorded a 70% turnout.
Naik was among the early voters and cast his vote at the Khadapaband booth. Former South Goa MP, Narendra Sawaikar also cast his vote at the same booth.
After voting, Naik told the media that the ruling party will win all the seats. In ward 4, the supporters of Vyankatesh alias Dada Naik, were extremely confident of his victory and even held a celebration. If he does win, Naik will be serving a fourth term.
The ward-wise turnout according to polling officials was Ward 1 “ 81.03 %, ward 2 “ 71.62 %, ward 4 “ 75.50 %, ward 5 “ 75.82 % , ward 6 - 77.16 %, ward 8 “ 75.19 %, ward 9 “ 68.72 % , ward 11 “ 74.18 %, ward 12 “ 72.98 %, ward 14 “ 78.95 %, ward 15 “ 70.71 %
Friday’s polling has sealed the fate of 43 candidates who are vying for the 13 seats at stake in the Ponda municipal council. In Sanquelim, 31 candidates are vying for the 10 seats up for grabs and they will know their fate only on Sunday.
Although civic elections are not held on party lines, it is a trend in Goa for them to float surrogate panels. After results, the political parties and their leaders also indulge in a game of one-upmanship to claim allegiance of the victors.
The current terms of both the Ponda and Sanquelim municipal councils are slated to end on May 20. With results expected to be declared on Sunday, the new councils will have been formed and occupied office much ahead of that deadline.
Meanwhile, on the State level landscape, it will be crucial that both Sawant and Naik gain control of the two civic bodies, if only to restore their somewhat bruised political statures owing to their rather skimpy winning margins at the February 2022 assembly elections.
The civic bodies make up nearly 70 per cent of their respective Sanquelim and Ponda assembly constituencies.
At Sanquelim, Sawant’s closest rival at last year’s assembly election, the Congress candidate Dharmesh Sanglani, is again in the fray leading a panel of candidates. One of the already elected councillors -- Praveen Blaggan -- is from his group which controls the outgoing civic body.
Sanglani is considered strong in the municipal areas whereas Sawant’s influence is immense in the outlying panchayat areas of the Sanquelim assembly constituency. It will therefore be a major point of interest when results are declared on Sunday to see if the chief minister has managed to neutralise his rival.
The political shadow-boxing in Ponda is even more intriguing, with the BJP camp led by Naik being challenged in the main by the panel owing allegiance to their coalition partner in the government -- Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).
At the Assembly elections it was the MGP’s Ketan Bhatikar who nearly upset Naik who eventually won by the wafer-thin 77-vote margin. Nothing could be more sweeter than a convincing win on Sunday for Naik, who has fielded both his sons -- current Chairperson Ritesh Naik and his younger brother Roy in two of the wards.
Five years ago too the Naik siblings had thrown their hat in the ring at the civic elections. While Ritesh managed to win his seat, Roy was defeated.
BJP panels will win Ponda, Sanquelim civic polls: CM
PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday that his party backed panels will win the civic elections in both Ponda and Sanquelim.
“I am confident. BJP-backed panels will win Sankhali and Ponda municipal elections,” the chief minister said, adding that the review he has taken indicate massive response to their candidates.
The Chief Minister also claimed that in his own Sanquelim municipal council, all the candidates backed by the BJP will win.
