As many as 22,482 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the constituency which covers areas including the state capital and has 30 polling stations.
Pic courtesy/Twitter/Prakash W. Kamat
Panaji: Voting began on Sunday morning for the bypoll to the Panaji assembly constituency, which was necessitated due to the death of former Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar in March.
Polling began at 7 am, officials said.
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As many as 22,482 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the constituency which covers areas including the state capital and has 30 polling stations.
Voting begins for 59 parliamentary constituencies in the 7th phase of #LokSabhaElections2019 across Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, MP, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Chandigarh. pic.twitter.com/azmqo02dYx
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2019
Parrikar, who passed away on March 17 battling pancreatic ailment, had represented the constituency for nearly two-and-a-half decades since 1994. Six candidates, including two Independents, are in the fray for the bye-election. The BJP, which has dominated the constituency, has nominated Siddharth Kunkolienkar as its candidate. The saffron party is fighting to retain its hold over the constituency considered as its fiefdom. Kunkolienkar had won twice from this assembly seat when Parrikar was elevated to Central cabinet as the Defence Minister between 2014 and 2017.
When they met!Babush Monserrate, Congress candidate greets former Goa RSS chief Subhash Velingkar of Goa Suraksha Manch at Cafe Bonsale in Panaji when latter arrived for tea after casting his vote at Masan de Amori voting booth at Panaji bypoll on Sunday @THMumbai @prashantnakwe pic.twitter.com/4DgDY6WkvY
— Prakash W. Kamat (@PrakashWKamat) May 19, 2019
District Election Officer & Collector North Goa Ms Menaka and Returning Officer Panaji Mr Vivek HP monitoring polling activities with their colleagues for Panaji By-election. #DeshKaMahaTyohaar pic.twitter.com/x6uLY5JXnr
— CEO Goa Election (@CEO_Goa) May 19, 2019
Monitoring of polling activities from @CEO_Goa office with my colleagues.
— Kunal (@kunalone) May 19, 2019
Panaji is going for Bye-Election today.
We request all voters to come in large numbers and exercise their voting rights.#panaji #DeshKaMahaTyohar pic.twitter.com/O01d59w1j8
The Congress has fielded its former Minister Atanasio Monserratte, who had lost against Kunkolienkar in the 2017 state Assembly election by over 1,500 votes. Monserrate had contested as an Independent. Former RSS Goa Chief Subhash Velingkar is contesting his first election on Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM) ticket. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded Valmiki Naik, who had lost the last assembly election from Panaji in February 2017. Two Independent candidates Dilip Ghadi and Vijai More are also in the fray. No queues were seen outside the polling stations when the voting began. Kunkolienkar and Velingkar were amongst the early voters who exercised their franchise at their respective booths. The counting of votes is scheduled on May 23.
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Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from Agencies
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