56.82 per cent voters cast ballot in Goa ZP polls

Around 4.50 lakh voters, including 31 Covid-19 positive voters, cast ballot in the Zilla Panchayat polls in Goa on Saturday, a top poll official said.

State Election Commissioner Chokha Ram Garg told reporters late on Saturday that 4,49,888 voters out of 7,91,814 eligible voters cast ballot for the elections to the two Zilla panchayat bodies in which 48 seats are up for grabs. 56.82 per cent voters cast ballot during the polls.

“The commission is glad that the polling in all 48 ZP constituencies has been held successfully in a well organized and peaceful manner,” Garg said.

The ZP poll was the first major polling exercise to be held in the state amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The counting of votes polled for the ZP elections will be held on December 14.

Garg also said that 31 Covid-19 positive persons also cast ballot in the various polling stations. "They were allowed to vote in the last one hour of voting from 4 pm to 5 pm and were using full PPE gear which was provided by the poll officials on duty," Garg said.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant thanked the people of Goa after the culmination of the poll exercise for stepping out to vote in midst of a pandemic.

“I wholeheartedly thank the people of Goa for coming out in good numbers to cast their vote for zilla panchayat elections 2020, thereby strengthening the grassroots democracy. I am confident of BJP's success in the elections and assure that we are committed to work for social welfare and development in the rural belts of Goa,” Sawant said in a tweet.

While state BJP President Sadanand Shet Tanavade has expressed confidence of victory, the main opposition party, the Congress too maintained that it would win the polls. INC's Girish Chodankar also accused the ruling BJP of using official machinery to run roughshod over the Model Code of Conduct.

"The people's wrath against this government was clearly visible on this voting day as many people have boycotted the voting. This also proves that the Election Commission and this government failed to make awareness among people to exercise their voting right," Chodankar said.

“BJP used government machinery for campaigning and all its illegally gained power to garner votes. Despite that, from the feedback We are hopeful of getting a victory in majority of the constituencies as people have expressed full confidence in the Congress Candidates who are committed to protect the Identity of Goa,” he added.