PANAJI
Elections to the post of sarpanch and deputy sarpanch were held on Monday with 174 sarpanchas and 175 deputies being elected in 175 panchayats across the state, many of them unopposed. One sarpanch could not be elected, in Volvoi as the post was reserved for women, but the only woman in the fray could not find anyone to second her nomination.
The elections, in which the elected panchas vote on who among them will be the sarpanch and deputy, saw MLAs claiming their turf in most cases but not before several interesting incidents of claims and counterclaims by MLAs and their rivals as well as some embarrassing moments for the MLAs.
In Sirlim Dramapur in Salcete, Sanjana Chari saw lady luck shine upon her winning the election to the post of sarpanch by a draw of lots. Chari who won unopposed from two wards could cast only one vote reducing the effective strength of the body is to reduced to six. With three votes in her favour and three against, resulting in a draw of lots deciding the winner.
In Volvoi, the MGP and BJP groups couldn’t come to an agreement leading to the MGP backed woman sarpanch failing to get elected after there was no one to second her nomination.
The two coalition partners at the state level turned to be bitter rivals at the Volvoi panchayat in Ponda taluka on Monday, after a woman panch could not get the support of BJP-backed male panchas to become sarpanch.
The post of sarpanch, which is reserved for women and there being no other women in the fray, has been deferred to July 8, but there are strong possibilities that this post could remain in a deadlock, with the BJP-backed panchas in no mood to support the MPG-supported panchas.
In the newly created panchayat of Quelossim, Sarpanch Maria Colaço and her deputy Sebastião (Seby) Serrão have become the first elected village heads of the newly carved panchayat. Both were elected unanimously.
Across the state, politicians rushed to claim that the elected sarpanchas and deputies are ‘their people’ with several politicians especially in South Goa parading before the media panels of their sarpanchas and deputies.
Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao on Monday paraded before the media sarpanchas and deputy sarpanchas elected from the three villages of Benaulim, Seraulim and Orlim out of the total seven villages in his constituency in the elections held on Monday while claiming that sarpanchas of Cavelossim and Colva were ‘with him’. He also completely neglected Carmona claimed by the AAP saying he didn’t work there.
Of the few politicians who could claim to have made a ‘clean sweep’ was Clafasio Dias of Cuncolim with the first time Congress MLA saying sarpanches backed by him were elected.
The elections to the eleven panchayats where counting is yet to take place will be held after July 2 the date when the results for those panchayats will be announced.
