PORVORIM
Barring a few stray incidents, voting in Porvorim and Saligao constituencies passed off peacefully on Saturday.
Some Electronics Voting Machines developed snags at Ambirna-Socorro, Chopdekar High School at Alto Betim and at another polling booth in Saligao. Voting was held up in these areas for some time, before election officials replaced the faulty machines.
There were some minor altercations between voters and police at Booth 1 in Socorro, after police had asked them to wait outside the 200-metre distance.
In most polling stations, polling started a bit late due to a mock poll exercise. Voters from Porvorim and Saligao constituencies turned out in large numbers to exercise their franchise. In the morning, there was rush at most polling stations at Porvorim and Saligao, with voters trickling in the evening.
With the entire Porvorim constituency being declared a sensitive area, a heavy police force was deployed all across the constituency. Besides Central Para Military Force and Goa Police, two Quick Reaction Teams were moving around the constituency.
SP Priyanka Kashyap visited the major polling stations to ensure law and order while people exercised their franchise. Flying squads were also seen moving across the Porvorim and Saligao constituencies.
Speaking to The Goan, Porvorim MLA and independent candidate Rohan Khaunte was confident of winning with a margin of at least 3,000 votes, while Tourism Minister and Saligao BJP's candidate Dilip Parulekar claimed that a high turnout would indicate that BJP’s win was certain.
