PANAJI: Voting will be held in the third phase of election in Goa on 23 April. Polling will be held in two parliamentary constituencies - North Goa and South Goa. Twelve candidates are in the fray for these two Lok Sabha seats.
Full coverage: Lok Sabha election 2019
Goa has 1135811 voters, which includes 555768 male voters and 580043 female voters. The Election Commission has set up 1652 polling stations for the smooth conduct of elections.
Bypolls will also be held in the state to three Assembly seats, namely Shiroda, Mapusa and Mandrem on April 23. The by-elections in Shiroda and Mandrem were necessitated after their sitting Congress MLAs resigned and joined the ruling BJP. The Mapusa seat fell vacant following the death of its sitting BJP MLA Francis D'Souza. There are 18 nominees for the three Assembly seats.
Here is the full list of candidates going to polls in the third phase in Goa:
NORTH GOA
| SL. NO. | Candidate Name | Party Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GIRISH RAYA CHODANKAR | Indian National Congress |
| 2 | SHRIPAD YESSO NAIK | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| 3 | AMIT ATMARAM KORGAONKAR | Republican Party of India (Kamble) |
| 4 | DATTATRAYA PADGAONKAR | Aam Aadmi Party |
| 5 | AISHWARYA ARJUN SALGAONKAR | Independent |
| 6 | BHAGAWANT SADANAND KAMAT | Independent |
SOUTH GOA
| SL. NO. | Candidate Name | Party Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | COSME FRANCISCO CAITANO SARDINHA | Indian National Congress |
| 2 | ADV. NARENDRA SAWAIKAR | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| 3 | ELVIS GOMES | Aam Aadmi Party |
| 4 | RAKHI AMIT NAIK | Shivsena |
| 5 | DR. KALIDAS PRAKASH VAINGANKAR | Independent |
| 6 | MAYUR KHANCONKAR | Independent |
The BJP has fielded its sitting MP and Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik from North Goa against Congress' nominee Girish Chodankar, who is the opposition party's state chief. The AAP has nominated its state general secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar from the seat. In South Goa, BJP's sitting MP Narendra Sawaikar is pitted against Congress' former parliamentarian Francis Sardinha, AAP's Goa convenor Elvis Gomes and Shiv Sena state vice president Rakhi Prabhudesai Naik.
In the Shiroda Assembly seat bypoll, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) president Deepak Dhavalikar is locked in a battle against BJP candidate Subhash Shirodkar, Congress' Mahadev Naik, AAP nominee Yogesh Khandeparkar and Santosh Satarkar of the Goa Suraksha Manch (GSM). In Mapusa Assembly seat, BJP's Joshua D'Souza is pitted against Congress nominee Sudhir Kandolkar, GSM's Nandan Sawant and AAP's Shekhar Naik.
Besides, in Mandrem Assembly seat, BJP candidate Dayanand Sopte is fighting against Congress' Babi Bagkar, Independent candidate Jit Arolkar and GSM's Swaroop Naik. During the poll campaigning, the state chief electoral officer received several complaints, including against a Christian priest, of violation of the code code of conduct. The priest later issued an apology over his remarks against BJP president Amit Shah, Modi and Goa's late chief minister Manohar Parrikar.
