BJP-backed alliance wins ZP polls with wafer-thin majority

Even as the BJP-led alliance managed a wafer-thin majority in the Zilla Panchayat polls in Goa, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said the results were expected and the loss in some constituencies could not be attributed to the governance factor.
"I think it was a mid-term appraisal of the government and we have won the trust of the people. If there are some setbacks in a few constituencies, they are due to several factors. But governance was surely not a factor," Parsekar told reporters, minutes after the day-long counting of the ZP results was over.
In North Goa, BJP-led alliance wrestled 12 out of 25 seats, leaving them with the option to take support of independent candidate to claim for the seat.

The alliance formed with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Goa Vikas Party (GVP) as the members, got a near-border majority in South Goa, as they won 13 out of 25 seats.
This is for the first time that the ZP polls were held on the party lines.
Congress, NCP and other regional parties had not participated in the elections, while individual legislators had fielded their candidates in respective constituencies.

The Chief Minister said the results were a "learning experience" for the party, which would now examine the results in those constituencies where it did not fair well.
However, Parsekar did not say that the results were unexpected. "All the opposition parties had come together to fight against official candidate of the alliance," he added.

Senior leader and Deputy Chief Minister Francis D'Souza, however, said the BJP should examine and find out the reasons behind such a result.
"If this was a mid-term appraisal, then we did not qualify," he said.