Goa Election 2022 Result: 'Son'set in Panaji - Utpal Parrikar concedes defeat
The Goa Election 2022 was first that BJP contested since stalwart Manohar Parrikar’s death in 2019. His son, Utpal, had sought a BJP ticket from Panaji but was turned down.
FollowFormer Goa chief minister and BJP stalwart Manohar Parrikar's son Utpal Parrikar, who had rebelled against the saffron party to contest from his father's constituency, on Thursday accepted defeat in Panaji.
According to the latest trends, BJP candidate from Panaji, Atanasio Monserrate Babush, has won the assembly seat, making it the first big win for the high-profile assembly seat.
Speaking to reporters outside a counting centre, Utpal Parrikar said, "Satisfied with the fight, but the result is little disappointing."
"As an Independent candidate, it was a good fight. I thank the people," he added.
Goa Election 2022 Result LIVE:Hung over a prediction in high-stakes battle
Official vote count will be updated once counting completes
According to the Election Commission data, Panaji has 22,408 registered voters — 10,531 male and 11,877 female. The constituency houses the Goa Secretariat, offices of all major departments, the Chief minister's residence, and consulates. A large part of the constituency has commercial areas.
Exit polls had earlier indicated that the coastal state might be heading for another hung assembly, much like the cliffhanger of 2017. Data predicted both BJP and the Congress would end up with around 15-18 seats each in the 40-member house. The kingmaker is likely to be Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress, which might win 2-4 seats.
No. of candidates from Panaji: 7
Atanasio Monserrate - BJP
Devendra Sundaram - Independent
Elvis Gomes - Congress
Rajesh Vinayak Redkar - Revolutionary Goans Party
Utpal Manohar Parrikar - Independent
Valmiki Datta Naik - AAP
Yeshwant Madar - Independent
Also read: Goa Election 2022: Show is not over yet; the numbers game is on
Election issues raised:
In the run-up to the election, Utpal Parrikar made the Panaji contest into a 'prestige fight', repeatedly stating that his purpose behind contesting was not to seek any post but to stand up for the values that were steadily eroding in the present BJP set-up. Unemployment is a crisis in Goa, and Parrikar has said he has a blueprint for the constituency and will work not only to generate employment but create entrepreneurs.
It is worth noting that Utpal Parrikar is himself a graduate of Michigan State University, who left Silicon Valley to start his own business in the coastal state before taking the plunge into politics.
Vote share in 2017:
In the 2017 state assembly elections, BJP's Sidharth Sripad Kuncalienker won the Panaji seat, defeating Atanasio Monserrate of the UGP by a margin of 1,069 votes. The BJP had received 45.7 per cent of the votes in this Panaji seat.
Goa Election 2022 voter turnout:
The single-phase assembly elections in Goa saw a high voter turnout of 78.94 per cent for the 40 assembly seats. The Panaji constituency had a voter turnout of 73.75 per cent.
