CM Pramod Sawant 'fully confident' of BJP win in Goa polls

As the polling began for the single-phase Goa Assembly elections, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday called him to give his best wishes and exuded confidence of the BJP getting a majority in the polls.

The chief minister who is contesting from the Sanquelim constituency expressed his confidence over the victory of the BJP in the Goa elections. He asserted that the party has done a lot for the people in the last 10 years, it will benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the full majority.

Speaking to ANI, Sawant said "Prime Minister Narendra Modi called me in the morning today to give his best wishes. I am fully confident that BJP will win 22+ seats. The infrastructure development by BJP in 10 years and Prime minister's self-reliant vision will definitely benefit us with a 100 per cent majority."

"No matter which party comes here, I have faith in goa people that they are voting BJP government," he said.

Meanwhile, Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai and his wife Reetha Sreedharan on Monday cast their votes at the polling booth of the Taleigao Assembly constituency in the coastal state.

"People in Goa are cooperative. There are no major political clashes. The elections will be free and fair. The Election commission of India (ECI) and all political parties deserve appreciation. This year I expect more people will come to the polling booths," Pillai said.

The polling for 40 assembly seats in Goa began at 7 am and will end at 6 pm today.

A total of 301 candidates from different political parties are in the electoral fray in Goa.The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is challenged by Congress, Trinamool Congress, and Aam Admi Party (AAP) in a multi-cornered electoral contest in Goa.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is contesting from the Sanquelim constituency against Congress' Dharamesh Saglani while the BJP candidate from Margao seat, Manohar Ajgaonkar has been pitched against Congress nominee Digambar Vasant Kamat.

Goa Assembly has a strength of 40 members out of which the BJP currently has 17 legislators and enjoys the support of legislators from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Vijay Sardesai of the Goa Forward Party (GFP), and three independents. The GFP and MGP each have three MLAs, and Congress, on the other hand, has 15 MLAs in the house.

The counting of votes in Goa will take place on March 10.

(ANI)

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