Goa Election Results 2022 LIVE Updates: Advantage BJP as Winning Independents Pledge Support to Party, CM Sawant Wins Sanquelim Seat

Goa Assembly Elections Results 2022 LIVE Updates: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant won the election from his traditional Sanquelim Assembly constituency on Thursday, and expressed confidence that the BJP will form government in the coastal state.

In early trends on Thursday, the Bharatiya Janata Party has taken a lead over Congress in 19 seats, leaving behind Congress which is leading in 15 assembly seats. The counting 

of votes for the election to the Goa assembly began on Thursday morning. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said if numbers fall short, the BJP will take help of other parties. With exit polls predicting a hung assembly, Congress said it is open to forging an alliance with Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) and even promised ministry to Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, however, exuded confidence in BJP winning a third straight term with more than 22 seats in the 40-member House in the 2022 Vidhan Sabha election results.

As many as 302 candidates were in the fray, with the state voting in a single phase on February 14. More than 11 lakh voters cast their ballot to elect the next government in the popular coastal state. While the BJP entered the elections with the slogan ’22 plus in 2022′, CM Sawant said that even if the party is stuck at 17-18 seats, it would seek help from Independent MLAs to form a government.

Meanwhile, the Congress, fearing a repeat of the 2017 fiasco, shifted all the candidates, who had contested the polls, to a luxury resort in Bambolim village near Panaji a day ahead of the counting. The BJP also held a meeting with senior leaders to discuss possible outcomes.

The Goa Congress has been in touch with AAP candidates and has promised ministry in case they win, sources told CNN-News18. The grand old party is also in touch with the Trinamool Congress, sources added.

In the 2017 Goa election, internal tensions and slow decision-making under the leadership of senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh led to the party losing its opportunity to form the government, despite emerging as the single largest party by winning 17 seats. The BJP had bagged 13 seats and was quick to tie up with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Goa Forward Party (GFP) and Independent MLAs to form a government under the leadership of four-time chief minister and former defence minister Manohar Parrikar.