By IANS
Panaji : The Congress, along with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has emerged victorious in Goa though it was supposed to have been hit by scams and corruption charges, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that had "expected to do much better" did not.
Tuesday's results left political observers, analysts and media struggling to find an explanation for the Congress' resurgence.
In the 40-member assembly, the Congress/NCP won 19 seats and the BJP 14. The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) bagged two seats, Save Goa Front two and United Goans Democratic Party one. Two independents also won.
The 2007 election was very much a repetition of past elections – for example the 1999 polls when the nail-biting battle went down to the last seat.
As was expected widely, the results showed no party gaining a clear majority. But there were some surprises, with many candidates losing their "sure" seats, and many surprising all by winning.
Two major factors however seem to have influenced the electorate here.
Voters in Goa tend to be highly influenced by the shadow of Delhi, and the fact that the BJP is out of power in New Delhi did not help it.
Moreover, the caste equations among Hindus, the BJP's target audience, also hurt its chances and so did its elite, pro-professional upper-caste image.
This time round, the BJP also attempted to garner the support of some upper strata of the Catholic community.
While analysing the results, some ground realities might get overlooked. Goa's is a polarised electorate, often divided by community and caste. Also, money power and campaigning on communal lines play a crucial role in elections.
"Media management" by parties has taken on a new high here, with politicians managing to play the news in a way that only ends up giving them a wrong indication of the voters' mood.
When detailed final results are in, they need to be scanned to gauge the extent to which the smaller parties dented chances of the Congress and BJP, especially the former.
There has been persistent suspicions that some parties like the Save Goa Front and the United Goans Democratic Party were propped up by the BJP, as were some independents, to hurt the Congress in areas where the BJP had little or no support.
The so-called north-south divide in Goa isn't as significant as the influence of local leaders, the alliance of various caste and communal groups, and the role of party dissidents.