Panaji : In a first, the high-pitch campaign in Goa, which ended on Sunday evening, saw focus laid on local issues faced by residents despite the ongoing elections being parliamentary polls.
Goa will go to the Lok Sabha polls on May 7 during the third phase of the elections. Voting will be held for the two Lok Sabha seats in the state, North Goa and South Goa, at 1,725 polling stations of which 863 are located in North Goa and 862 in South Goa.
With the total electorate numbering 11,79,344, the Election Commission has set a target of achieving a minimum of 80% turnout in the state.
On Sunday, while campaigning ended at 5 pm, behind the scene activities were on.
Altogether there are 16 candidates, eight in each constituency. The BJP has fielded five-time MP and Union Minister of State Shripad Naik for the sixth consecutive term from North Goa and educationist, philanthropist and businesswoman Pallavi Shrinivas Dempo from South Goa.
Congress has nominated former Union minister and veteran politician Advocate Ramakant Khalap for North Goa and retired Navy officer and social activist Captain Viriato Fernandes for South Goa.
The Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) has fielded its chief Tukaram alias Manoj Parab from North Goa and Rubert Pereira from South Goa. Bahujan Samaj Party has also fielded its candidates for the polls. Besides, a few Independent candidates are also in the fray.
Direct fight for the North Goa and the South Goa seats is likely to be between BJP and Congress though RGP is working hard to make a mark in their first parliamentary election.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant exuded confidence of winning both the seats by huge margins.
Diversion of water from River Mhadei has emerged as one of the major poll issues in the state, with Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan president Nirmala Sawant appealing to the voters to vote for those candidates who will raise the issue in the Parliament.
Many bahujan samaj leaders have also appealed to the voters not to vote for BJP candidates, claiming that the saffron party has failed to resolve the issues of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Goa.
Bharatiya Janata Party has tried to woo the voters in Goa by holding public rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the campaign. However, the Congress party or the INDIA bloc did not conduct any public rally of prominent national leaders and totally relied on the local leadership during their campaign.
Despite having its government in the state for 12 years and at the Centre for ten years apart from a strong organisational set-up, the BJP leaders, in an attempt to leave no stone unturned, tried to bring back several of its former MLAs and leaders as well as leaders from other parties.
Though few leaders including former chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Utpal Parrikar, son of former Union defence minister and former chief minister late Manohar Parrikar, did not join BJP, they have extended their support to Narendra Modi.
With the political parties having campaigned aggressively for their respective candidates for the last 20-25 days, it will now be the turn of the voters to decide the fate of these candidates on May 7.
The Chief Electoral Officer’s office said the polling machinery is fully prepared for the polling day with adequate arrangements made across all the polling booths.