By IANS
Panaji : Tens of thousands of Goans braved monsoon showers to vote in elections to pick a new 40-member assembly in one of India's smallest but politically most unstable states.
The 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.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) determined to return to power by ousting the Congress, every vote counts in Goa, a state known for political instability.
Goa, otherwise better known for its tourist potential, is known to have fairly high voting percentages – usually in the 60-70 percent range.
This year, the Election Commission made it mandatory for all those who have voter-identity cards to carry them to the polling booths. The new rule had sent voters scrambling for the cards ahead of the ballot.
This is perhaps the most bitterly fought poll in Goa. The ruling Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have sewn a last-minute alliance to ward off the threat of BJP and other smaller 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, whichever party gets the largest number of seats will get a head start in government formation.
Goa, with a population of around 1.4 million, has some one million voters. A total of 202 candidates are contesting the 40 seats. Only 15 of them are women, in a state where women otherwise play a prominent role in social life.
BJP chief and former chief minister Manohar Parrikar – on whom the party's fate singularly depends – is fighting it out in state capital Panaji. Taking him on is builder Dinar Tarcar of Congress-NCP.
The BJP is contesting 33 seats of 40, the Congress 32 and NCP six. Two seats have been "lost" due to rebellions within the party, including by Congress Chief Minister Pratapsing Rane's son Vishwajeet.
Goa's once ruling MGP is fighting in 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.
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.