Goa Elections 2022: BJP to stake claim with support from Independents; Congress blames vote division

The BJP claimed victory in the Goa Assembly elections on Thursday with senior party leader Devendra Fadnavis announcing that Independents and regional outfits would support the party in forming the coastal state’s next government. According to latest Election Commission of India data, the BJP has bagged 20 seats, one short of the 21 required for a simple majority in the 40-member House. Fadnavis, the BJP’s election in-charge, also thanked the state’s people for reposing their faith in the party and dedicated the performance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Press Trust of India reported.

Speaking at a press conference following the election results, the BJP’s Goa unit chief Sadanand Tanavade said the party had received letters of support from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and three Independents.

Fadnavis, the former Maharashtra chief minister had earlier said the party was confident of support from the MGP, a former ally, as both were ‘ideologically aligned’. Contesting this time in an alliance with the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the MGP bagged two seats. The BJP, however, remained tight-lipped about its chief ministerial face. Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said he could not predict if Pramod Sawant would continue, calling it a ‘sensitive question’.

On the other hand, Congress leader Michael Lobo said the party accepted the mandate and would work hard as an Opposition. The Congress has already bagged 10 seats, down from 17 in2017, and leading in one. Senior leader and former minister P Chidambaram, however, was defiant even in defeat and blamed the split in votes for the Congress’ numbers falling below expectations. He pointed out that the BJP had only secured a little over 33% of the votes polled, while the remainder got divided. A multi-pronged contest unfolded in Goa this time with the BJP, Congress, TMC, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the fray. The Congress had bagged the most seats in 2017, but the BJP, with 13 seats, quickly stitched together an alliance with support from the Goa Forward Party and the MGP and two Independents.

Also Read | Goa Assembly Elections 2022: Full list of winners

The TMC, which drew a blank in its first-ever election in Goa, said the party was committed to work harder to earn the love and trust of Goans. On the other hand, the AAP, still celebrating the success of its resounding victory in Punjab, will enter the Goa Assembly for the first time after bagging two seats. The party, which drew a blank in 2017, won from Velim and Benaulim, where Venzy Viegas unseated former chief minister Churchill Alemao, who contested on a TMC ticket. The Revolutionary Goans Party and the Goa Forward Party bagged a seat each.