Goa Zilla Panchayat results: BJP leads in early trends as counting continues

Counting of votes for Goa’s rural Zilla Panchayat (ZP) elections began on Monday (December 22) at 14 centres, six in North Goa and eight in South Goa, following polling held on Saturday (December 21), when more than six lakh voters cast their ballots.

Early results from key constituencies point to a mixed verdict, with gains for the BJP, Congress and independent candidates.

BJP emerges frontrunner

According to trends available till 2 pm, the BJP has emerged as the frontrunner, leading in 15 seats across the state, a Herald Goa report said.

The Congress is trailing with four seats, while the Goa Forward Party and the Revolutionary Goans Party have won one seat each.

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Independent candidates have also made their presence felt, securing two seats, while the Aam Aadmi Party is yet to open its account.

Counting is still underway and final results are awaited as trends continue to evolve.

Seat-wise results

According to a TOI report, the BJP won the Dharbandora and Barcem seats, while the Congress secured victories in Nuvem and Curtorim. Overall, the BJP has so far won nine seats, with the Congress taking three.

The Revolutionary Goans Party and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party have won one seat each, while one seat has gone to an independent candidate.

The BJP suffered a setback in Guirdolim, losing the seat to the Congress, which fielded rebel candidate Sanjay Velip, who switched sides ahead of the polls.

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The party, however, scraped through in Rivona, winning by a narrow margin of 14 votes, even as the Goa Forward Party sought a recount after finishing close behind.

Multi-cornered contests

The Congress has taken the lead in Calangute and Santa Cruz ZP constituencies, despite both being represented by BJP MLAs in the Assembly, and also scored a surprise win in Davorlim, an unexpected gain in the rural belt.

The BJP retained Xeldem, the home constituency of Goa Congress chief Amit Patkar. Independent candidate Radhika Paleykar defeated the BJP-MGP alliance nominee in Arambol.

The BJP also registered victories in Sanvordem, Latambarcem, where Padmakar Malik won, and Calangute, where Franzilia Rodrigues emerged victorious. BJP candidate Maheswar Govekar won the Siolim ZP seat.

Several constituencies witnessed multi-cornered contests, with leaders such as Vijai Sardesai of the Goa Forward Party and Inacina Luis Pinto from Raia among those in the fray. A high voter turnout, the highest since 2005, has been one of the defining features of this election.

High voter turnout

More than 200 candidates from political parties and among independents contested the 50 Zilla Panchayat seats, with the elections expected to play an important role in shaping Goa’s political narrative ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls.

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Goa recorded a voter turnout of 70.81 per cent in the Zilla Panchayat elections, with over 226 candidates contesting across 50 constituencies. The surge in participation has been attributed in part to vigorous campaigning by MLAs, including opposition leaders.

While the ZP results may not directly alter the state’s political balance, they offer a clear indication of rural voter sentiment and party popularity in the run-up to the next Assembly elections.