Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday expressed confidence in the return of the BJP’s “double engine” government in the coastal state as exit polls predicted a hung assembly with the saffron party and Congress neck-and-neck in the state.
“Exit polls have come today, people know the ground reality. I am sure the BJP will make the government here in Goa. The BJP will get around 18-22 seats here. The people will choose double engine government again. The BJP is forming government in four states,” Sawant was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
In the 40-member assembly, parties need 21 seats to win decisively. According to the Jan Ki Baat survey, the BJP is slated to win 13-19 seats, 14-19 for the Congress, AAP may get 1-2, while others may make up 4-8.
The P-MARQ Exit Poll gives 13-17 seats to the BJP, 13-17 to the Congress-GFP and 2-6 to the Aam Aadmi Party. Meanwhile, the TMC-MGP is expected to win 2-4 seats and may emerge as the kingmaker in case of a hung assembly.
The India Today – Axis My India survey gives a slight edge to the Congress in the coastal state. While it predicts 14-18 seats for the BJP, Congress is expected to gain in 15-20. According to the Zee-Designboxed survey, the Congress-led alliance is likely to win 14-19 constituencies, the BJP 13-18, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 0 and others 4-11.
So far, Goa has witnessed shifting of power largely between the Congress and the BJP. However, poll observers feel that after the February 14 assembly elections, smaller parties and new entrants are likely to play a crucial role in government formation.
Since the last four Goa elections – from 2002 – it was only once that any party crossed the magic figure of 21 in the 40-seat assembly. It was only in 2012 that the BJP managed to achieve that feat.
This time, the BJP is battling a 10-year anti-incumbency. This is also the first assembly poll that the BJP is contesting without former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who died in 2019.
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