Goa Polls: 26.63 Per Cent Polling Till 11 AM; Governor, CM Cast Vote

Panaji, Feb 14 (PTI) An average 26.63 per cent votes were cast till 11 am on Monday in Goa as polling was underway for the state Assembly elections, officials said.

Long queues were seen outside some polling booths in the coastal state, where 301 candidates are in the fray for the 40 Assembly seats.

Voting began at 7 am and will conclude at 6 pm.

Till 11 am, 26.63 per cent polling was recorded in the state, as per officials of the Election Commission.

The Sankhalim constituency (North Goa), represented by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, recorded the highest 33 per cent voting so far since morning, followed by Sanguem (South Goa) where 32.87 per cent votes were polled, they said.

Sanvordem and Benaulim constituencies (South Goa) recorded a low turnout of 22.85 per cent and 22.96 per cent, respectively, as per official figures.

Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai and his wife were among the early voters. They stood in a queue at a booth in Taleigao Assembly constituency near state capital Panaji at 7 am to cast their votes.

Polling was going on peacefully, the governor said and congratulated the state poll machinery for the smooth conduct of the elections.

He said people of Goa are peace-loving. Normally, there is no untoward incident here during the elections which shows the success of democracy, he said.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant also exercised his franchise at a booth in Sankhalim Assembly constituency.

He claimed that his party BJP will win over 22 seats and retain power in the state.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Rajendra Arlekar, who hails from Goa, and his wife also cast their votes in Vasco Assembly constituency of the coastal state. 'I have come here from Himachal Pradesh specially to cast my vote. Voting is a fundamental right. I appeal to people to come out in large numbers to vote. There should be cent per cent voting,' Arlekar said.

He said Goa had a track record of very high voter turnout in the past.

Over 11 lakh people are eligible to cast their votes in Goa. They include 9,590 people with disabilities, 2,997 aged over 80 years, 41 sex workers and nine transgenders.

The counting of votes will take place on March 10.

Goa is witnessing a multi-cornered contest, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and other smaller parties vying to make a mark on the state's electoral scene.

To check the spread of COVID-19, voters have been provided hand gloves at the polling stations, an election official said. Over 100 'all-women' polling booths have been set up in the state for the convenience of female voters.

The prominent candidates include CM Sawant (BJP), Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat (Congress), former CMs Churchill Alemao (TMC), Ravi Naik (BJP), Laxmikant Parsekar (independent), former deputy CMs Vijai Sardesai (GFP) and Sudin Dhavalikar (MGP), late CM Manohar Parrikar's son Utpal Parrikar and AAP's CM face Amit Paleker.

The average number of eligible voters per booth in the state is 672, which is the lowest in the country, a poll official said.

The Vasco Assembly constituency has the highest number of 35,139 eligible voters, while the Mormugao seat has the lowest number of voters at 19,958, he said.

The Congress and the Goa Forward Party (GFP) are fighting the election in alliance, while the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has tied-up with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) to contest the polls.

The Shiv Sena and the NCP had also announced their pre-poll alliance, while the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is contesting without a tie-up with any other political party.

The Revolutionary Goans, Goencho Swabhimaan Party, Jai Mahabharat Party and Sambhaji Brigade are also in the poll fray, besides 68 independent candidates. There are 105 all-women polling booths, also called as the 'pink booths'. Earlier, there was a pink booth in every constituency, the official said.

The state had recorded 82.56 per cent turnout during the 2017 elections. The Congress then won 17 seats. The BJP, which bagged 13 seats, was quick to stitch up an alliance with some regional outfits and independents to form government in the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah campaigned in the last one month for the saffron party, which has not entered into any pre-poll alliance in Goa.

The Congress has fielded 37 candidates, while ally GFP has fielded three. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra campaigned for the party in the coastal state.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)