Panaji: All eyes will be on the over 32,000 voters of Panaji that are eligible to exercise their franchise on Wednesday to elect 30 representatives to the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP). The election is being watched keenly to see if the new panel led by ex-defence minister Manohar Parrikar’s son Utpal can stop revenue minister Atanasio Monserrate’s winning run.The Goa state election commission (SEC) made arrangements for 48 polling booths; polling will commence at 8am and end at 5pm.A total of 69 candidates are in the fray for the CCP election, which is mostly divided into 2 panels—one headed by Monserrate and the second headed by Utpal. A total of 32,496 voters—15,225 males and 17,271 females—are eligible to exercise their franchise in the CCP election. While CCP elections are not fought on party lines, panels are being supported directly by political parties. Voting will be on ballot papers.Residents of the city have raised a number of issues during campaign, from the removal of casinos from the Mandovi to parking issues, among others. For the first time, several opposition camps, including Congress, AAP, and Utpal, have come together in an attempt to dislodge Monserrate’s panel from the CCP, and raised the issue of ‘family raj’. Monserrate’s son, Rohit, is currently mayor.Leaders of both camps have left no stone unturned to win, and functionaries were seen giving last-minute touches so that they do not miss a single vote, as in some wards, observers expect a close contest. One political observer said that it would be interesting to see whether the united opposition could help change the result of the CCP election, which Monserrate has never lost.While Monserrate has his own support base, Utpal still has a soft corner in the hearts of his father’s workers, and even some former hardcore BJP karyakartas. In 2022, Monserrate fought a close contest with Utpal, who contested as an independent, and eventually won by fewer than 1,000 votes.Leaders of both camps have claimed that they will win Wednesday’s CCP election. Monserrate has set a target to win all 30 wards.
