Goa elections: Both deputy CMs, big political bigwigs suffer defeats

Panaji (Goa) [India], March 10 : As BJP emerged as the single largest party in Goa winning 20 seats in the 40-member state assembly, the election results also saw some political bigwigs losing their constituencies.
Both Deputy Chief Ministers of Goa lost Assembly elections to their nearest Congress rivals.
In Margao, BJP after a long see-saw battle, Congress' Digambar Kamat defeated Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Ajgaonkar Manohar (Babu) by a margin of 7,794 votes. In the last elections, BJP had fielded Ajgaonkar from Margao in South Goa.
Deputy Chief Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar lost to Congress candidate Altone D'Costa in Quepem by a margin of 3601 votes. Kavlekar had won from Quepem in 2017 on a Congress ticket. He switched to the BJP in 2019.
Former minister and BJP candidate Milind Naik tasted defeat in Mormugao against Congress' Sankalp Amonkar while AAP chief ministerial candidate Amit Palekar, from St Cruz assembly segment, lost to Congress' Rodolfo Louis Fernandes
In Goa's Bicholim, Rajesh Patekar, BJP candidate and assembly speaker lost his seat to independent candidate Chandrakant Shetye.
Late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's son Utpal Parrikar, who contested independently in the Goa Assembly elections, has lost from the Panaji constituency by 716 votes, the Election Commission has declared. He was up against BJP heavyweight Atanasio Monserrate, who won 6,787 votes to Parrikar's 6,071.
Former Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, who contested the Assembly election from Mandrem seat as an Independent candidate lost to Jit Vinayak Arolkar of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak (MGP).
In Priol, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak (MGP) candidate and party president Pandurang Alias Deepak Dhavalikar lost to BJP's Govind Shepu Gaude.
Former Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress candidate from Benaulim, Churchill Alemao was defeated by Aam Aadmi Party's Venzy Viegas.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which fell one seat short of the majority figure in Goa is set to retain power in the state with the help of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak (MGP) and Independent candidates.
The BJP emerged as the single largest party in Goa winning 20 seats in the 40-member state assembly. Congress finished second with 11 seats and the Independent candidate bagged three seats. Two seats each went to Maharashtrawadi Gomantak (MGP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) while Revolutionary Goans Party and Goa Forward Party (GFP) got one seat each.
According to Election Commission, BJP got 33.31 per cent vote share followed by Congress (23.46 per cent), MGP (7.60 per cent), Aam Aadmi Party (6.77) and Trinamool Congress (5.21 per cent).
Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday evening said that it will form a full majority government in the coastal state with the support of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak (MGP) and three independent MLAs-- Antonio Vas, Chandrakant Shetye and Alex Reginald.
"We have won 20 seats. MGP has also given us a letter of support. Three independent MLAs have also supported us. So, now we are 20+3+2 =25. There is a possibility that more candidates will join us. So we are forming the government," Fadnavis said in a press conference here.
Accepting defeat in Goa, Congress leader P Chidambaram said that the Congress lost by a 'very small' margin. "We accept the verdict of the people of Goa. Our candidates fought bravely, despite several obstacles... People have voted BJP to power and we accept that. In several constituencies, we lost with very small margins," said Chidambaram while addressing a press conference.
"Split in votes among various parties ended up in our numbers being less than what we had hoped for...BJP won by a little over 33 per cent of votes, remaining votes got divided", he added.
In 2017, Congress had emerged as the single largest party in the state, winning 17 seats but the BJP, which won 13 seats, managed to form the government with the support of the Goa Forward Party and the MGP which had won three seats each, and two independents.