Goa Stands with Good Governance, Progressive Politics: PM Modi

• BJP-led alliance wins 31 of 50 Zilla Panchayat seats in Goa
• BJP emerges as single largest party; MGP adds strength to NDA tally
• PM Modi and CM Pramod Sawant thank voters for mandate
• Congress cites vote split as reason for defeat

GG News Bureau
Panaji/New Delhi, 23rd Dec: Goa’s ruling alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday registered a decisive victory in the Zilla Panchayat elections, winning over 31 of the 50 seats across the state. The polls were held on December 20, with counting completed on Monday evening.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated party workers and thanked the people of Goa for their support. “Goa stands with good governance. Goa stands with progressive politics,” the Prime Minister said in a post on X, shortly after the results were announced.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant confirmed that the BJP had emerged as the single largest party in the district panchayat elections. By 8 pm, the BJP had won 29 seats, while its alliance partner, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, secured three seats. The BJP-led alliance had contested 43 seats in total.

On the Opposition side, the Indian National Congress won 10 seats, while its ally, the Goa Forward Party, managed one seat. The Aam Aadmi Party retained one seat, while the Revolutionary Goans Party also won one seat. Independent candidates bagged four seats.

Goa has two Zilla Panchayats—North Goa and South Goa—with 25 members each. Voting was held across rural areas of the state, excluding municipal regions. A total of 226 candidates contested the elections, and counting was conducted at 14 centres set up by the State Election Commission.

Goa BJP president Damodar Naik said the results showed there was “no alternative” to the BJP and dismissed allegations linking BJP victories to electronic voting machines. “These elections were held using ballot papers, and yet we won. This shows the people’s true faith in the BJP,” he said.

Chief Minister Sawant described the outcome as a victory for the NDA under PM Modi’s leadership and thanked rural voters for their support. While acknowledging that the party lost some seats by narrow margins, he said corrective measures would be taken going forward.

The Congress, however, attributed its defeat to a split in Opposition votes. Congress MLA Carlos Alvares Ferreira said that in several constituencies, the combined Opposition vote exceeded that of the BJP, indicating division rather than decisive rejection.