Goa Congress, BJP confident of victory ahead of vote counting

Both the Congress and the BJP on Wednesday claimed victory with a comfortable majority ahead of the counting of votes in the February 4 state assembly polls.

Both parties held review meetings with their respective candidates and polling agents, prepping them for counting day on Saturday.

"We are expecting 23 to 25 seats. We should have the majority this time. I know that many, including some of our senior leaders, were saying that the Congress will not get more than three seats. The situation is now from minus to plus," state Congress President Luizinho Faleiro told reporters here.

Faleiro also said that the Congress was open to support from leaders of other political parties and independent candidates.

"As I said before, if any other candidate believes in the Congress ideology, programme and manifesto, they're free to support us," Faleiro said.

State Bharatiya Janata Party president Vinay Tendulkar also expressed confidence about winning the assembly elections.

After conducting a meeting with party leaders and candidates, Tendulkar told reporters in Panaji that the ruling party would win 22-23 seats in the 40-member Goa legislative assembly.

"The BJP is sure to win 22-23 seats when results are declared on March 11," Tendulkar said.

When asked whether current Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar would be anointed to the post once again if the party wins the polls, Tendulkar said: "That is up to the party MLAs and the Parliamentary board".

--IANS

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