Panaji, March 9 (Agency) North and South Goa district administrations are gearing up for counting of votes which will start at 0800 hrs on March 10, officials informed on Wednesday. While counting for 19 constituencies will be held at Government Polytechnic College, Altinho, in Panaji, counting of 21 constituencies will be taken up at Comba, Margao, in South Goa. According to North Goa District Election Officer (DEO), the strong room would be opened at 0600 hrs and the counting will start at 0800 hrs. He said EVM counting would start at 8030 hrs and a maximum of 11 rounds of counting would take place. A three-layered security is guarding the EVMs at the counting centre at Panaji, he said. Observers appointed by the Election Commission have reviewed the arrangement of counting and expressed satisfaction, he said. The entire process will be videographed. At Margao, more than 600 staff would be deployed for the counting exercise. According to South Goa Additional District Collector Surendra Naik, the results would be out by 1100 hrs.
On Tuesday, officials of the District Administration and Election Commission held a rehearsal of the counting exercise. Most of the exit polls have predicted a hung assembly in the state. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant along with party’s Goa unit President Sadanand Shet Tanavade visited New Delhi on Tuesday. He called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the political scenario in the state. In view of the predictions by the exit polls, parties like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress have sent their senior leaders to oversee the counting process and take a decision in case they emerge as kingmakers. TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee and MP Derek O’Brien landed in Goa on Tuesday while AAP’s Atishi is already in the state for the last three days. Congress has kept all its candidates at a resort in the city ostensibly to keep them away from the contact of other political parties. Speaking to UNI, BJP Goa Spokesperson Urfan Mulla claimed that the party would cross the number of 22 seats in the state assembly. ”We will secure more than 22 seats and form a government under the leadership of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant,” he said. Criticising the Congress, he said the MLAs had been put in a resort to ensure that chair of Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat is saved. Congress Spokesperson Amarnath Panjikar however claimed that the party would form the government with the support of independents and its alliance partner.
”We are very confident that Congress will form a government and it will be the people’s government because the people of Goa have voted against BJP. BJP failed to give good governance to Goa,” he said. ”They failed to solve the problems of the common man, fishermen, and failed to protect the nature of Goa by bringing in three linear projects. People were against the rule. Actually people had not voted for them last time. They had voted against them but through horse trading and undemocratic means they came to power and that is why we could see during the last five years everyone was on the street protesting against this government. Everybody was fighting against the BJP,” he told UNI. Panjikar ruled out that there could be a hung assembly as predicted by some of the exit poll results.
”A call will be taken once the results are out. However, there could not be a hung assembly. I think Congress along with the alliance partners and some independents will form the government,” he said. We are meeting to discuss tomorrow’s counting strategy, about forming a government. It’s not that they are locked. They are free. Their mobiles are on, you can check,” the Congress leader said. MGP leader Sudin Dhavalikar has expressed confidence that the alliance would emerge as king maker post the counting of votes. Trinamool Congress leader Trajano D’Mello said the TMC Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) alliance would hesitate to be party to any anti-BJP government provided the three schemes promised to the people by the TMC and the MGP are agreed to be implemented in the first 250 days. ”The schemes Griha Lakshmi scheme of Rs 60,000 per year for women, a credit card of Rs 20 lakh for the youth and homes for the homeless, living in Goa prior to 1974,” he said. ”If this is agreed upon, then I do not see any difficulty in TMC-MGP becoming part of any anti-BJP government,” he told UNI. There are 301 candidates from different political parties fighting for 40 seats in the legislative assembly.