NT Reporter
Panaji
Elections to the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) recorded a voter turnout of 69.07 per cent on Wednesday, 1.12 per cent lower than the turnout of 70.19 per cent recorded in the last civic polls held
in 2021.
With polling concluding, the fate of 69 candidates contesting from 30 wards has been sealed in the ballot boxes. Counting of votes will take place on March 13 at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Taleigao.
Polling was largely peaceful without any major incidents, although a few minor incidents were reported in a couple of wards.
Out of 32,496 voters, a total of 22,445 electors cast their votes. Of these, 10,575 were male voters while the remaining were female voters.
The voter turnout stood at 16.73 per cent till 10 am, 33.64 per cent till 12 pm, 47.84 per cent till 2 pm and 62.24 per cent
till 4 pm.
Ward 23 recorded the highest turnout at 81.94 per cent, while Ward 3 recorded the lowest at 53.09 per cent.
In the CCP elections held in March 2021, Panaji MLA Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate and the Bharatiya Janata Party-backed panel had won 25 out of the 30 seats.
This time, the Ami Panjekar panel supported by Utpal Parrikar, son of former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, has reportedly posed a strong challenge to the Babush-BJP backed panel.
It remains to be seen whether the Babush-BJP backed panel will retain the 25 seats it secured in the previous election or whether the Parrikar-backed panel has made significant gains. Although several issues were raised during the campaign, the outcome on March 13 will indicate whether voters in Panaji have opted for change.
