MARGAO
Opposition leader Digambar Kamat retained the Margao seat by a massive margin of 7794 votes as the BJP suffered a crushing defeat in its bid to regain the seat.
In the bargain, Kamat has created a record of sorts when he won the Margao seat for the eighth time in a row, including the 2005 by-poll.
BJP candidate, Deputy Chief Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar managed to garner only 5880 votes as against Kamat’s 13674, giving the Opposition leader a 7794-vote margin victory.
This is the first time that the BJP has suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Margao MLA since he quit the party to embrace the Congress in 2005.
Contrary to expectations that Ajgaonkar may come close to poll 10,000 vote, given the support he enjoyed in the city’s migrant pockets, the BJP candidate was left stranded midway as he polled 5880 votes.
Observers pointed out that the defeat of the BJP indicates that the party candidate did not find favour with a majority of Madgavkars.
Factionalism in the party is also believed to have contributed to Ajgaonkar’s defeat as he could not even poll the 7500 votes, considered the traditional vote base in the constituency.
Other candidates in the fray, Trinamool Congress Mahesh Amonkar failed to cross the 1000-vote mark as he finished the race with 914 votes.
While Aam Aadmi Party candidate Lincoln Vaz polled 1173 votes, Revolutionary Goans Party nominee Shashiraj Subha Shirodkar polled 722 votes.
