PANAJI
Goa heads to the polls on Saturday for 50 Zilla Panchayat constituencies across North and South Goa. Voting will be conducted through ballot papers from 8 am to 5 pm, with security forces deployed to ensure smooth conduct.
A total of 226 candidates are contesting -- 111 in North Goa and 115 in South Goa -- seeking the mandate of a little over 8.69 lakh voters.
Counting of votes will take place on December 22, at the taluka level, and since the polling is by ballot papers and not EVMs, the process is expected to take longer and results likely only after noon.
The elections are being fiercely contested, with several multi cornered battles and an overwhelming majority of new faces in the fray making outcomes difficult to predict.
Campaigning ended Thursday morning, after which candidates fanned out across villages for last minute door to door outreach. The campaign period remained peaceful, with no reports of violence or major controversy.
On Friday, ballot papers and polling materials were dispatched to booths, while police tightened security across constituencies.
This election marks a significant churn in local politics. Many sitting members were unable to contest due to constituencies being reserved for women and the other categories such as Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
Only nine incumbents have thrown their hats in the ring, alongside 12 candidates who had contested in 2020.
BJP has fielded candidates in 40 constituencies, backed independents in seven, and supported the MGP in three.
AAP which is contesting solo has fielded 42 candidates while the Congress has forged an alliance with the Goa Forward Party and is jointly contesting with the party headed by Vijai Sardesai.
The RGP which had initially indicated it would join the Congress-GFP alliance, broke off over disagreements in seat sharing and suspicions that the alliance partners were providing a platform to 'defector' politicians.
Many analysts say the results or any trend is hard to forecast, given the large number of fresh faces and shifting alliances.
Nonetheless, the outcome is being closely watched as a barometer of public sentiment ahead of the next assembly elections due in a little over one year in 2027.
