PANAJI
Campaigning by candidates vying to be grass-root representatives in 186 village panchayats of the State ended on Monday evening bringing to a halt the buzzing activity to woo voters in rural Goa.
Over the last several days, over 5,000 candidates who have entered the fray have been frantically wooing voters by launching door-to-door visits, tying up with citizens' groups and forums to become panchayat members in their respective areas.
While political parties and many legislators have refrained from directly getting involved in the activities and publicly demonstrating their support to individual aspirants, some politicians and MLAs have put their prestige at stake and fielded panels of candidates in panchayats coming under the jurisdiction of their respective assembly constituencies.
Polling is fixed to be held from 8 am to 5 pm on Wednesday, August 10. Counting will be taken up and results declared on Friday.
The elections are not held on party lines but politicians and political parties usually spring into action after the results to try and claim allegiance of the winners and gain control by proxy of the local self-governing bodies at the village level.
There are over 5000 candidates who will have their names printed as one of the choices on the ballot papers to elect ward members spread across 186 panchayats. In 64 wards, there are already winners with the wards going uncontested as just one valid nomination was filed.
State Election Commission which is charged with conducting the elections has set up 1,566 polling stations at 1049 locations across the State. Thirty of these booths are identified as vulnerable and sensitive.
There are 955 candidates contesting in Bardez, the most among all the 12 talukas. Salcete has 863, Ponda has 601 and Tiswadi 583.
The panchayats in Pernem has 450 candidates in the fray while 380 are vying for a seat in the panchayats of Bicholim. Sattari has 259, Quepem 240, Mormugao 219, Canacona 169, Sanguem 156 and 123 in Dharbandora.
