MARGAO
Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, 64.25 per cent of voters, around 42,670 voters, preferred to come out from their homes to cast their franchise in elections for the Margao Municipal Council elections on Friday sealing the fate of the 98 candidates and the key political players in the ballot boxes.
While ward 7 (Agalli) saw the highest turnout of voters, around 74.09 per cent, ward 23 registered the lowest, 56.09 per cent.
The major poll panels, however, were quick to interpret the turn out in their respective favour.
Vibrant Margao Chairman Damu Naik said the fact that people have turned out in large numbers goes to show that the people want a change. “The remaining voters must have either not come out because of the pandemic or they are not happy with the Margao Civic Alliance forged by MLAs Digambar Kamat and Vijai Sardesai,” Damu said.
He exuded confidence that the Vibrant Margao panel will rule the civic body for the next five years.
Leader of Opposition and Model Margao Convenor Digambar Kamat expressed his happiness over the voter turnout despite the fear of Covid. “It should not come as a surprise that the Model Margao panel sweeps the election in the 11 wards of Margao,” Kamat said.
Goa Forward Party President Vijai Sardesai said Fatordekars have taken the first step towards saving Goa and have voted in favour for a future without the BJP.
Vijai pointed out that the voters represented the true essence and purpose of his unity coalition, ‘Team Goa’. “Team Goa is a people-centric, people-led approach aimed at bringing governance to the people. The voters of Fatorda have expressed their desire for change and are looking forward to the work and action of Team Goa.”
While the high turnout of voters must have perplexed the observers given that Margao city is in the grip of the pandemic, with cases rising by the day, the turn out can be attributed to the intensive and micro-level campaign unleashed in the city in the run-up to the polls by the major political players.
Not only did the major panels, including panels fielded by Vibrant Margao, Fatorda Forward and the Model Margao systematically go about their campaign, the leaders and workers saw to it that adequate arrangements were put in place not only to ferry voters, but provide them with face masks and sanitizers.
Booth-level workers were given a task to get voters out on staggered timings, right from the morning till the end.
