By IANS
Panaji : An estimated 65-70 percent of the 1.01 million electorate in Goa braved monsoon showers to elect a new 40-member legislative assembly in one of India's smallest, but politically most unstable, states.`
The results in the keenly contested battle between the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are scheduled to be declared June 5.
The BJP is determined to return to power in the state, famous for its beaches and cuisine, which traditionally has a fairly high voting incidence of usually 60-70 percent.
Voting began in the morning amid a drizzle, leading to slow polling in the early hours. But officials said some 35 percent had voted across the state by 2 p.m. and there could be a last minute spurt in voting.
Soon after balloting ended, Election Commission officials estimated the voting percentage at around 65-70 percent. "Actual figures will take some time," an official said.
A total of 202 candidates contested for the 40 seats, with just 15 women in a state where women otherwise play a prominent role in social life.
Reports from across the state spoke of long queues, brought on by tight checking of voter identity cards. In one village in south Goa, some 600 votes were still in the queue at 5.30 p.m., half-hour after voting officially ended.
The Election Commission set up 1,066 polling centres and deployed some 1,500 electronic voting machines.
According to analysts, this was one of the most bitterly fought polls in Goa. The ruling Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) entered into a last-minute alliance to ward off threats from BJP and other groups.
Most political pundits here are predicting a hung assembly, with independents and smaller parties expected to play the kingmaker's role. If that happens, the party that gets the largest number of seats will get a head start in government formation.
State BJP chief and former chief minister Manohar Parrikar – on whom the party's fate singularly depends – fought it out in state capital Panaji. Taking him on was builder Dinar Tarcar of the Congress-NCP.
The BJP contested 33 seats, the Congress 32 and NCP six. Two seats were "lost" due to rebellions within the party, including one by Congress Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane's son Vishwajeet, who stood as an independent candidate.
Goa's once ruling Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party fought on 26 seats. The newly formed Save Goa Front, led by former Congress leader Churchill Alemao, who could dent into the Congress vote, is in the fray in 17 seats.
These apart, the Janata Dal-Secular contested 12 seats, United Goans Democratic Party 11, the Communist Party of India 4 and the Save Goa Front 17. Nineteen independents are also in fray.
In 2002, the BJP got 17 seats against the Congress' 16. The BJP managed to form a government with support from a motley crowd of diverse players, only to collapse once the BJP departed from power in New Delhi in 2004.