Team Goemkarponn
SANCOALE: The Bharatiya Janata Party stamped its authority in the Sancoale Zilla Panchayat constituency with newcomer Sunil Mahadeo Gawas registering a comfortable victory in one of the most keenly watched contests of the elections. With as many as eight candidates in the fray, Sancoale witnessed a crowded battlefield, but the BJP machinery, led by Power Minister Mauvin Godinho, ensured a clear outcome in its favour.
Counting trends made the result evident early in the day. The first round itself gave the BJP a commanding advantage, which it managed to protect through subsequent rounds, ultimately winning the seat by a margin of 1,902 votes. Candidates arrived at the counting centre in the morning amid high anticipation, but the numbers steadily tilted in favour of Gawas as the rounds progressed.
The opening round, covering the politically significant Chicalim and Dabolim areas, proved decisive. Gawas polled 2,819 votes, while Congress candidate Vasant Sahadev Naik managed 1,371 votes, giving the BJP an early lead of around 1,448 votes. The round underlined the organisational strength of the BJP in these pockets, with sustained ground-level campaigning by Chicalim sarpanch Kamla Prasad Yadav and deputy sarpanch Aishwarya Korgaonkar, both of whom actively mobilised support for the party in Dabolim and surrounding areas.
Independent candidate and TMC convenor Mariano Rodrigues emerged as a strong contender from the outset. In the first round, Rodrigues polled 672 votes and ran almost neck and neck with BJP rebel Achut Prakash Naik, who secured 593 votes. The contest at this stage appeared open, particularly for the second position.
The second round saw the BJP continuing its steady run with 1,616 votes, while Rodrigues followed closely with 1,508 votes. Congress remained in the race with 1,107 votes. However, the surprise of the round came from Achut Naik, who surged ahead with 1,210 votes, briefly altering the dynamics and pushing him into contention.
The third and final round dramatically reshaped the lower half of the results table. Rodrigues topped the round with an impressive 2,613 votes, overtaking others to secure second place overall with a total of 4808 votes. The BJP secured 2,233 votes in this round, sufficient to protect its overall lead. Congress, however, saw a sharp dip, managing only 574 votes, which eventually pushed Vasant Naik to third position with a total of 3,065 votes.
Despite losing momentum in the final round, Achut Naik’s performance stood out. Contesting independently and without formal political backing, he polled a total of 2,078 votes to finish fourth — a notable achievement for a first-time candidate taking on two national parties with recognised symbols.
Kannadiga leader Rajesh Sadashiva Shetty secured 1,161 votes, a tally that, while not placing him among the frontrunners, was sufficient to influence vote calculations and margins.
In the end, the BJP’s early lead proved insurmountable. Sunil Gawas got 6710 votes and his victory not only delivered the Sancoale ZP seat to the BJP but also signals the party’s sustained organisational grip in the constituency, even amid multi-cornered contests and strong independent challenges.
