ECI to decide on date for Mapusa bypoll

PANAJI: The office of the chief electoral officer on Tuesday wrote to the Election Commission of India (ECI) informing that the Mapusa constituency Assembly seat has fallen ‘vacant’ following the sad demise of former deputy chief minister and MLA Francis D’Souza.

It now remains to be seen whether the ECI holds the bypoll for Mapusa along with Mandrem and Shiroda bypolls and elections to the Lok Sabha seats in Goa.

“An official communication was received by the CEO office from the state legislature department and based on that report we have informed ECI that the Mapusa seat is vacant, as the local MLA passed away in the last week,” said a senior officer of the CEO office.

The officer said that it is now up to the ECI take a call on either holding the by-election to Mapusa along with Shiroda and Mandrem constituencies or to hold it later separately.

Shiroda and Mandrem seats had also fallen vacant after then Congress MLAs Subhash Shirodkar and Dayanand Sopte resigned from the party to join BJP.