the goan I network
PANAJI
With the stage set for counting and declaration of results for the two Goa Lok Sabha seats - North and South Goa - the cynosure of all eyes however will be the counting process for the four assembly bypoll seats of Mandrem, Mapusa, Panaji and Shiroda.
The counting process is slated to kick off at 8 am on Thursday at the two counting centres set up by the administration at Government Polytechnic College complex at Altinho-Panaji in North Goa and at the Multipurpose Education complex at Borda-Margao in South Goa, both of which also served as the strong rooms where the EVMs were stored in the period between the April 23 polling day and now.
While the electronic voting machines of Mandrem, Mapusa and Panaji will be taken up at the Altinho counting centre along with those of the North Goa Parliamentary seat, those of Shiroda are slated to be taken up at the Borda centre, where South Goa Lok Sabha seat’s EVMs will also be counted, assembly segment-wise.
Many are expected to be glued to their television sets since morning on Thursday as across the country, counting is also being taken up for the Lok Sabha election. However most in Goa will be keenly following the progress of the vote counting in the Mandrem, Mapusa, Panaji and Shiroda assembly seats. The results of these four seats could potentially trigger political developments which can impact the stability of the BJP-led coalition government of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
In the North, the Mandrem and Mapusa results are expected to be known first as these two segments will be taken up for counting first, according to North Goa Collector, R Meneka, IAS. The Panaji seat is expected to be taken up thereafter.
With the two major political parties contending for power in Goa - the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress - tied with 14 MLAs each in the truncated 36-member House, results of the four bye-poll seats have the potential to either strengthen or destabilise the Sawant-led coalition government.
Currently, the 14-member BJP enjoys the support of the three MLAs of Deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai’s Goa Forward Party and three Independents - Cabinet Ministers Rohan Khaunte, Govind Gaude and Sanguem MLA, Prasad Gaonkar.
Of the four bypoll seats, Mandrem and Shiroda are
witnessing a three-cornered contest. While in Mandrem the fight is between BJP’s Dayanand Sopte, Independent Jeet Arolkar and Congress’s Babi Bagkar, in Shiroda, the BJP’s Subhash
Shirodkar is being challenged by MGP’s Deepak Dhavlikar and Mahadev Naik of the Congress.
In Mapusa and Panaji, the BJP and Congress candidates are locked in a straight fight although in the capital the presence of Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Valmiki Naik and Goa Suraksha Manch’s Subhash Velingkar has the potential of impacting the final result.
In Mapusa, Joshua D’Souza of the BJP is fighting to retain the seat held since 1999 by his father Francis D’Souza, whose death in February, necessitated the by-election. Joshua is facing a stiff challenge from his late father’s former close aide, Sudhir Kandolkar who has been fielded by the Congress after he failed to get the BJP’s ticket.
Meanwhile, Union AYUSH minister Shripad Naik will be hoping to earn a record fifth term in the Lok Sabha with a win when counting of the North Goa seat is taken up. He faces the challenge of Congress State president Girish Chodankar.
For the South Goa Parliamentary seat, outgoing MP Narendra Sawaikar faces the challenge of veteran Congressman and former chief minister Francisco Sardinha who has also won the seat twice in the past. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) State convenor Elvis Gomes is also on the roster and how well or badly he does could determine, who among the top two contenders - Sawaikar or Sardinha - eventually wins.
Round One may seal AAP fate in South Goa
MARGAO: Round one of the counting of votes of the 10 Assembly segments of the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency is very crucial for the main contestants, BJP and Congress and may as well seal the fate of the Aam Aadmi Party in the first round itself. In fact, the round one will decide the fate of AAP State convenor and South Goa candidate Elvis Gomes as the Assembly segments of Cuncolim, which is the home constituency of Gomes, besides Benaulim and Nuvem will be taken up for counting during this round. >> See pg 2
