Goa zilla panchayat election results: BJP-MGP alliance retains dominance, Congress sees modest gains

The BJP–MGP combine secured 32 of the 50 zila panchayat seats. (File: PTI)

The BJP-led alliance has retained its grip over Goa's rural power centres, winning a clear majority in the zila panchayat elections even as the Congress registered modest gains compared to its previous showing in 2020.

Results declared on Monday showed the ruling BJP–Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) combine securing 32 of the 50 zila panchayat seats. Of these, the BJP won 29 seats while the MGP accounted for three.

The Congress, on the other hand, finished a distant second with 10 seats, while its ally Goa Forward Party (GFP) managed to win one. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) retained its lone seat, the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) won 2 while 4 seats went to Independents.

The polls, held on Saturday using ballot papers, recorded a turnout of 70.8 per cent, the highest since rural body elections were first introduced in Goa in 2005.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant described the verdict as an endorsement of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. "This is a victory of the NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We have won both district panchayats with a simple majority. I thank the rural voters of Goa for reposing their faith in our party and government," Sawant said at a press conference, congratulating the newly elected members and assuring them of a development-centric approach.

Region-wise results also highlighted the BJP's organisational strength across the state. In North Goa, the party won 18 seats, with the Congress managing just two. The RGP won two seats, the MGP one, while two seats went to Independents.

In South Goa, which has traditionally been considered a Congress bastion, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 11 seats. The Congress won eight seats, the MGP two, while the GFP and AAP won one seat each, with two Independents also getting elected.

Goa BJP president Damodar 'Damu' Naik said the results had punctured the Opposition's claims of electoral manipulation. "The Opposition kept alleging EVM manipulation, but these elections were held using ballot papers. The results show there is no alternative to the BJP and that people have faith in us," he said.

The Congress, while conceding defeat, sought to project its improved tally as a positive trend. Party leaders pointed out that the Congress had won just four zila panchayat seats in the 2020 elections.

AICC Goa in-charge Manikrao Thakare said the party had more than doubled its performance this time. "This improvement follows our victory in the South Goa Lok Sabha seat in 2024 and reflects growing public discontent with the BJP government's mismanagement and neglect of local issues," he said.