Goa By-elections: Parrikar wins Panaji, Vishwajit Rane wins Valpoi for BJP

TIL Desk/National/Panaji/ The ruling BJP on Monday won the by-elections to two assembly seats in Goa, with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar emerging victorious from Panaji and health minister Vishwajit Rane from Valpoi. It was crucial for the BJP to bag the two seats as it does not enjoy a majority on its own in the 40-member assembly.

Parrikar, who returned to the state from the Centre after the assembly elections in February, defeated his nearest rival, Congress’s Girish Chodankar, by 4,803 votes. As per the final results announced this morning, Parrikar polled 9,862 votes against 5,059 by Chodankar.

Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) president Anand Shirodkar polled 220 votes, while 301 people pressed None of The Above (NOTA) button in the August 23 election.  Chodankar, a senior leader of the Goa Congress, is a close aide of party vice president Rahul Gandhi.

Parrikar, who had been getting elected from Panaji constituency since 1994, had resigned in November 2014 to join the Union Cabinet as Defence Minister.