Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Zilla Panchayat elections in Goa were held on Saturday, recording an overall voter turnout of 60 per cent plus across constituencies, with polling conducted smoothly and peacefully, the State Election Commission (SEC) said.
North Goa registered a higher voter turnout of 60.43 per cent, while South Goa recorded 60 per cent participation. A total of 8,69,356 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise to decide the fate of 226 candidates contesting for 50 Zilla Panchayat seats. Elections were held in 48 constituencies as two seats were uncontested.
According to the SEC, polling was conducted successfully in a “well-organised and peaceful manner” across all 1,187 polling booths set up throughout the State. Magisterial arrangements were in place to maintain law and order, with 19 sub-divisional magistrates in North Goa and 25 in South Goa, along with executive magistrates, deployed on polling day.
In North Goa, 4,40,199 electors were eligible to vote, including 2,13,704 male, 2,26,492 female, and three other voters. In South Goa, the electorate stood at 4,29,157, comprising 2,06,902 male, 2,22,253 female, and two other voters.
The elections were contested on party lines, marking a significant shift from previous Zilla Panchayat polls. Campaigning ended peacefully on Thursday after an intense eight-day canvassing period, with political parties and candidates aggressively reaching out to voters. All sitting MLAs took the polls seriously, viewing them as crucial to consolidating their respective Assembly constituencies.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), contested the elections in alliance, as did the Opposition Congress and the Goa Forward Party (GFP). The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Revolutionary Goan Party (RGP) chose to contest independently, while several Independent candidates also entered the fray.
The BJP fielded candidates in 40 constituencies, backed Independents in seven, and supported the MGP in three. The AAP, contesting solo, fielded 42 candidates, while the Congress jointly contested seats with the GFP, led by Vijai Sardesai. The RGP, which had initially indicated it would join the Congress-GFP alliance, later withdrew over seat-sharing disagreements and concerns over alleged accommodation of defectors.
This election has witnessed considerable churn in local politics, with many sitting Zilla Panchayat members unable to recontest due to constituencies being reserved for women, Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs). Only nine incumbents are in the fray, along with 12 candidates who had contested the 2020 elections.
However, the results are being closely watched as a key barometer of public mood ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, now just over a year away.
