Thaindian News

Panaji, March 3 (IANS) Goa appears to have opted against a Saturday siesta as nearly eight lakh people voted to pick a 40-member assembly, with all political players claiming they were poised to win.

While the final polling figure would be released later, officials said they expected the voting percentage in the small state to touch a whopping 80.

“This is a healthy sign. There are still queues in several stations even after 5 (p.m.),” an Election Commission official told IANS.

In the 2007 election, Goa saw 72 percent polling.

A few minutes short of close of polling, voting in both Goan districts had crossed a healthy 75 percent.

Both the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed the “ballot flood”, interpreting it as a good sign for them.

The BJP claimed the surge in voting was bound to help it gain power.

“We are getting 20 seats and (our ally) MGP may get four,” BJP secretary in charge of Goa Aarti Mehra said.

“This is definitely a good sign for Goa and for the BJP. People want a change,” Mehra added.

On the other hand, the Congress claimed that the heavy voter turnout was ominous for the BJP.

“This is a reinforcement of the government’s good deeds. People from all sections came out to back the government and keep communal forces at bay,” Congress working president Francisco Sardinha said.

Polling was largely peaceful barring minor incidents in Panaji and Davorlim.

Polling at Kirbhat in the Nuvem constituency in South Goa was suspended after a clash between supporters of former tourism minister Mickky Pacheco of Goa Vikas Party (GVP) and Power Minister Aleixo Sequeira (Congress).

In Panaji, Congress candidate Yatin Parekh and his supporters clashed with senior BJP leader Manohar Parrikar’s followers, forcing police to intervene.

In Davorlim, 40 km from here, police escorted Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao’s daughter Valanka out of a house where she was campaigning in the vicinity of a polling booth.

A police inspector was suspended after he did not stop a bus load of people while they were being ferried to a polling booth in Vasco, 34 km from here.

Two polling officials were replaced in Dongri, in St Andre constituency near Panaji and Kundaim in Marcaim constituency, following complaints that they favoured a particular party.

The main contest was between the Congress-NCP alliance and the BJP-Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party combine. The Trinamool Congress has fielded 20 candidates.