Late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s son Utpal Parrikar, who contested independently in the Goa Assembly elections, has lost from the Panaji constituency by 716 votes, the Election Commission has declared.
Utpal contested independently after he was denied a ticket by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Panaji constituency which his father had represented six times.
He was up against BJP heavyweight Atanasio Monserrate – who won 6,787 votes to Parrikar's 6,071 – as well as the Congress' Elvis Gomes, and AAP's Valmiki Naik.
"As an Independent candidate it was a good fight, I thank the people. Satisfied with the fight but result is little disappointing," Parrikar said as he left the counting centre on Thursday.
As of 4.40 pm on 10 March, the BJP has almost made it to the halfway mark in the 40-seat assembly, having won 18 seats and leading in two, while the Congress has won seven seats and is leading in four. The AAP has won one seat and leads in another, while the TMC has failed to take any leads in the polls.
During the 2017 Goa Assembly elections, the Indian National Congress secured the highest number of seats – 17 – but failed to form an alliance government with other smaller parties. Meanwhile, the BJP, despite having only 13 seats, managed to form a coalition government in the state by joining hands with GFP, MGP and other independent contestants.
Incumbent Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant declared on Thursday that the BJP will form the government in Goa with the assistance of the MGP and independent candidates.
Along with Parrikar, 67 other independent candidates contested the polls in Goa.
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