Goa: BJP wins Zilla Panchayat bypolls in all three constituencies

Panaji: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the bypolls to all three Zilla Panchayat constituencies in Goa, results of which were declared on Tuesday, an official said.

The byelections to Davorlim, Reis Magos, and Cortalim Zilla Parishad constituencies were held on Sunday and the counting of votes took place on Tuesday.

According to the state election commission, BJP candidates Paresh Naik (Davorlim) and Sandeep Kashinath Bandodkar (Reis-Magos) and BJP-backed Independent Merciana Mendes E Vaz (Cortalim) were declared winners.

In Reis-Magos constituency of North Goa, Bandodkar polled 5,345 votes defeating Independent candidate Sainath Bablo Korgaonkar who got 1,101 votes, an official said.

The BJP’s Paresh Naik polled 4,080 votes defeating Siddhesh Santosh Bhagat of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who received 3,374 votes, in South Goa’s Davorlim, he said.

Independent candidate Vaz, who was backed by the BJP, won in Cortalim (South Goa) with 4,453 votes, defeating Independent candidate Lesley Agnelo Gama who got 1,511 votes, the official added.

The byelection in these constituencies was necessitated after the respective Zilla Panchayat members resigned to contest the Goa Legislative Assembly election held in February this year.