VASCO
The electorate emphatically voted for a change in Mormugao taluka by electing new faces in three of the four constituencies in the taluka.
The elections were also a major setback for the BJP as it could win in only two constituencies this time around, after having won all four constituencies in the 2017 elections.
New faces were elected in Mormugao, Vasco and Cortalim, with Sankalp Amonkar (Congress) winning the Mormugao constituency by defeating his arch-rival and former BJP minister Milind Naik by a margin of 1,941 votes.
In Vasco constituency, there was another change of guard as Krishna (Daji) Salkar of BJP defeated the Congress candidate and two-time Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida by a margin of around 3,629 votes.
Another new face emerged in Cortalim constituency, when Cortalim ZP member Antonio Vas won in Cortalim constituency by 1,178 votes, after defeating the Congress Candidate Olencio Simoes and an independent candidate Sancoale Sarpanch Girish Pillai.
While there have been many turning points on the counting day with the leads changing hands after different rounds, what became evident was that elected councillors in Vasco could not do much to garner votes for their leaders.
Former Mormugao MLA Milind Naik had got 7 of 9 councillors elected, while former Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida had got 9 of 11 councillors elected in the recent municipal elections, with both losing in the elections.
Almeida lost the support of three councillors -- Deepak Naik, Priya Raut and Amey Chopdekar --after they decided to stand with the party when it named Salkar as its candidate.
Former minister Jose Philip D'Souza who had claimed to have openly extended support to Almeida could not create much impact in his home ground of Kharewaddo and get Almeida a lead at the elections.
Similarly, panch members of Quelosssim, Cortalim, Velsao, Cansualim and Sancoale in Cortalim panchayat who had aligned and supported mainstream political parties like the BJP, Congress and TMC could not do much to stop AntonioVas, an Independent candidate, who emerged victorious.
While Amonkar and Salkar continued to keep their lead intact all through the counting, it was a roller coaster ride in Cortalim where the lead changed hands after every round and at one point in time, the lead even went to Sancoale Sarpanch Girish and Congress candidate Olencio Simoes as well. It was only after the last two rounds that Antonio Vas gained a significant an unassailable lead.
Godinho is undisputed captain in Dabolim
THE GOAN NETWORK
VASCO
He may have been pitted against a captain in the armed forces, but Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho proved to be the captain in the political force at the Dabolim constituency.
Godinho defeated his political rival, activist turned politician Captain Viriato Fernandes (Congress) by a margin of 1,570 votes, securing him a victory on all three times “ twice on the BJP and once on the Congress “ since Dabolim constituency had been carved out in 2012.
While there were speculations that Godinho could lose elections this time, voters decided to give Godinho yet another chance, probably due to development projects promoted by him like the grade separator, beautified Vaddem lake, Chicalim Sub District Hospital and Jogger’s Park project.
Local taxi operators at Dabolim Airport also stood firm with Godinho after the counter of Goa Miles had been removed from the Airport.
Godinho, however, won by a relatively small margin as initially, Congress candidate Captain Viriato had been leading for a few rounds till Godinho secured a lead in areas like New Vaddem, Bogmalo, Chicalim and Dabolim, which were sufficient to win Dabolim.
With this victory, Godinho is now one of the senior-most politicians in the State, having been elected for seven terms, four times in Cortalim (1989, 1994, 1999 and 2007) and three times in Dabolim (2012, 2017 and 2022)
Alina wiped out in Cortalim
THE GOAN NETWORK
VASCO
After representing Cortalim constituency on two consecutive occasions, former Cortalim MLA Alina Saldanha lost her magic after switching parties and was wiped out in the elections.
Saldanha, who had quit the BJP to join the AAP, was placed a poor seventh in the list, with a meagre 1,355 votes.
This will be a major setback for Saldanha, the wife of former minister late Matanhy Saldanha, after having spearheaded several burning issues in Cortalim constituency like the double-tracking and other linear projects.
Saldanha had quit the BJP after a fallout with the party over the double-tracking project and had earlier even expressed confidence that she would get elected from the Cortalim constituency based on her development works.
Many have attributed Saldanha’s decision to quit the BJP to her dismal performance and others said the AAP did not have much support in the constituency.
Others felt that Saldanha’s poor result was probably the fact that some who had supported her in the last ten years themselves turned out to be political candidates.
While Independent candidate Antonio Vas won the Cortalim constituency, Congress candidate Olencio Simoes came second, followed by Independent candidate and Sancoale Sarpanch Girish Pillai, TMC candidate Mariano Rodrigues, Revolutionary Goans' Teotino Costa and BJP candidate Narayan Naik, with Saldanha ending up in the 7th position.
NCP State chief stands 5th in Dabolim
THE GOAN NETWORK
VASCO
While the NCP failed to secure a win at the elections, the performance of its State president and former minister Jose Philip D’Souza was particularly dismal after he was placed fifth in the list with a meagre 1,037 votes.
This is the third consecutive defeat for D’Souza, twice in Vasco (2012 and 2017) and now in the Dabolim constituency.
Despite heading the Goa Fishing Boat Owners Association, D’Souza failed to create an impact within the fishing communities in places like Bogmalo.
While D’Souza had won the Vasco seat before its delimitation to carve out the Dabolim constituency, areas of New Vaddem had been his stronghold.
This time around, nothing seemed to have worked in his favour despite taking credit for some development works in the Dabolim constituency,
D’Souza had been vocal in insisting that Congress forms an alliance with the NCP. His words proved to be true as the failure of an alliance cost the party dearly and the Congress candidate eventually lost by around 1,570 votes, almost as much as D’Souza had polled.
Amonkar gets Cong back in
Mormugao after 15 years
THE GOAN NETWORK
VASCO
With Sankalp Amonkar winning the Mormugao seat on Thursday, Congress took back control of the constituency after 15 long years.
Mormugao constituency was represented by the BJP for the last 15 years after the former minister Milind Naik won on three consecutive occasions, defeating Karl Vaz (2007) and Sankalp Amonkar on two occasions (2012 and 2017).
The Congress had been dominating the Mormugao constituency since 1977.
Shaikh Hassan had won from Mormugao on a Congress ticket in 1977, 1980, 1984 and 1989 till John Manuel Vaz, father of Karl Vaz, won as Independent candidate in 1994.
Shaikh Hassan, however, managed to win back the Mormugao seat in 1999 on a Congress ticket and the last time that the Congress won the Mormugao constituency was in 2002 when Karl Vaz won from Mormugao
Milind Naik had been MLA of Mormugao since 2007 for the last 15 years, but allegations of a scandal against him just before the polls proved costly for Naik and seemed to impact the voting patterns in the constituency.
