PANAJI
It was a celebration of democracy at the lowest denominator -- the grassroot village panchayats -- and a riot of emotions was witnessed as winners and losers saw fortunes fluctuate through the tense hours of counting of votes which progressed over several hours from 8 am on Friday.
Voters from rural Goa had their say as they voted out several veterans of panchayat politics, voted in many young first timers and punctured the domination of mainstream politicians in several panchayats across the State.
While in hundreds of wards the margins of victory were comfortable there were dozens of wards where the difference was in single digit.
In fact in at least five wards of Saligao, Salvador-do-Mundo, Curca-Bambolim, Mandrem and Uguem panchayats there was no difference in the number of votes polled by the top two candidates. It was a tie and the winner was picked by the draw of lots, as per the rules and guidelines of election law.
The elections were not fought on party lines. Nonetheless, it did not stop the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant from claiming that his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won in an "overwhelming majority" of the 186 village panchayats.
Sawant said he bases his claims on the fact that majority of the winners are "affiliated" to his party.
Politicians (ministers and MLAs) and political parties claim wins by showcasing allegiance of the winners by a surrogate, semi-formal methodology. Much of the negotiations and horse-trading will take place over the next few days up until the day each of the 186 panchayats meet to elect the sarpanch and deputy sarpanch.
The counting began at 8 am at 21 centres across the 12 talukas and the fortunes of as many as 5,038 candidates who vied for 1,400 wards were decided. As many as 64 candidates had already been declared elected without a contest -- 41 from North Goa and 23 from South Goa.
Among the politicians who suffered a setback of sorts in their respective constituencies were Revenue Minister Rohan Khaunte and Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo in North Goa.
In South Goa, Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar was dealt a severe blow as he managed to gain a stranglehold in just Gaondongrem and Cotigao. Tawadkar's wife Savita however won her seat in the Poinguinim panchayat.
Khaunte failed to sweep the three panchayats in his Porvorim constituency which he usually does.
In Salvador do Mundo, just three candidates owing allegiance to him won in the 11-member body. He however managed to keep his stranglehold on Penha-de-Franca where nine of his supporters got elected. The third panchayat of Socorro was a mixed bag for the minister.
In Calangute, veteran Joseph Sequeira made a stunning comeback winning his own seat and five more of the panel he floated. Only three supporters of Lobo won and two other Independents emerged winners in the 11-member body.
Lobo who had defeated Sequeira handsomely in the contest for Calangute constituency at the Assembly elections earlier this year, however, managed to maintain his stranglehold in Arpora-Nagoa, Candolim and Parra. In Parra in fact, his son Daniel Lobo emerged victorious in one of the wards.
The cash rich Anjuna-Caissua panchayat threw up a stunning result with its long serving Sarpanch Savio Almeida booted out. Laxmidas Chimulkar defeated Almeida by a margin of 29 votes.
There were other notable veterans of panchayat politics who faced defeat too. Drishti Kavlekar defeated six-time panch member and multiple term sarpanch of Chimbel, Chandrakant Kunkalkar.
In Cansaulim, another veteran Martha Saldanha was also defeated. Saldanha lost by a big margin, polling just 84 votes while her winning rival Xavier Pereira polled 209 votes.
Other significant results on counting day included the kith and kin of two towering politicians who had however fallen at the hustings during the Assembly elections -- Churchill Alemao and Francisco (Mickky) Pacheco.
While Churchill's daughter Sharon D'Costa won her seat in the Varca panchayat by a narrow 10-vote margin, Mickky's wife Viola won a Betalbatim panchayat ward by a significant 165-vote margin.
Outgoing Sancoale Sarpanch Girish Pillai won a spectacular victory. He polled over 1,000 votes and his margin of victory was 600-plus.
As the dust of the counting day settles, what will be keenly watched are the negotiations, horse-trading and arbitration indulged in by politicians and political parties over the next few days to capture power at the grassroot.
