Voting for the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) elections concluded on Wednesday with the turnout crossing the 60 per cent mark across the state capital.
Polling was conducted from 8 am to 5 pm across 30 wards, with election authorities setting up 48 polling booths to facilitate voters. Some wards had a single polling station, while larger wards were provided with two booths to manage voter turnout.
Election officials said that by 2 pm, a total of 15,546 votes had been cast, including 7,382 men and 8,164 women voters, representing a turnout of 47.84 per cent. Voting picked up during the later hours of polling and eventually crossed the 50 per cent mark by the close of voting, later rising above 60 per cent.
The civic polls saw active campaigning from several prominent political figures.
Revenue Minister Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate campaigned for his panel of candidates, while Utpal Parrikar, son of former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, backed the Ami Panjekar panel.
Leaders from the Opposition also participated in the campaign. Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, South Goa MP Captain Viriato Fernandes, and AAP leaders Venzy Viegas and Valmiki Naik conducted outreach in several wards.
Several wards witnessed closely contested races. Ward 9 saw a contest between Surendra Furtado and Kabhir Pinto Makhija, while Ward 6 featured Dr Sheetal Naik against Bento Lorena. In Ward 13, Uday Madkaikar contested against Nilkant Chari.
Mayor Rohit Monserrate’s contest in Ward 4 (Caranzalem) also drew attention after the entry of Agnelo Silveira, resulting in a three-cornered fight.
Ward 17 (Fontainhas, Alto-Guimaraes, Altinho) also attracted interest with Jack Sukhija contesting against BJP-backed incumbent Edward Jorge.
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