BJP tops with 23 seats, Congress improves tally

Voter turnout was notably high, with 72.6 per cent turnout in North Goa and 68.9 per cent in South Goa. The first Zilla Parishad election, held in 2005, recorded a voter turnout of 51.2 per cent. The second-highest turnout was recorded in 2015 at 66.4 per cent. A total of 226 candidates were in the fray for the 50 Zilla Parishad seats.Goa-based senior journalist Kishor Gaonkar said that the split in opposition votes helped the BJP emerge as the single largest party, despite its reduced seat tally compared to the previous elections. He noted that many of the BJP’s winning candidates were strong individual leaders who had originally come from the Congress.“The BJP continues to depend on individual leaders to muster numbers, and many of these faces are corrupt and politically damaged. However, with the help of resources, they managed the election, as they have done earlier. The major takeaway from this election is that there is no immediate threat to the BJP’s hold on power in the state, but it cannot continue to rely on individual corrupt leaders. This goes against the BJP’s stated principles,” Gaonkar said.The rural local body polls were significant in gauging the pulse of rural Goa, where public sentiment appears to be shifting. The elections were also held against the backdrop of several pressing issues, including a recent hotel fire that claimed 25 lives, job scams, gang wars, and attacks on activists.



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