Panaji: Unlike the 2017 Assembly elections the Goa voters gave a mandate to one party in the 2022 Assembly polls. BJP is winning 20 seats, just one short of halfway mark.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant met the Governor has stake a claim to form the government. He said that three independent MLAs are in touch with BJP. Goa BJP President is holding talks with independent MLAs, Sawant told reporters after meeting Governor.

Congress won 17 seats and BJP won 13 seats in the 2017 Assembly elections. But late action of Congress has missed the formation of government in the state. BJP swung into action by taking help of independents and smaller parties, formed the government. In the 2017 elections, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Goa Forward Block won 3 seats each. Besides three Independents won in the elections.

However this time, people have given the mandate to BJP but it has short of one seat. This time Goa Forward Block (GFB) has aligned with Congress, won one seat. Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP )as an alliance with Trinamool Congress headed by Mamata Banerjee, got two seats.

Independents key makers: Like in the 2017 elections, this time too, three independents will be kingmakers in forming a government, in which one Congress rebel candidate has won in the poll. It is almost certain that all three independent candidates will go with BJP. Because Congress has not shown interest in stake claim to form the government. TMC and MGP combined alliance won two seats and AAP won two seats. Both parties will not go with Congress. Thus the formation of Congress's government is unlikely.

Junior Parrikar lost:  Utpal Parrikar, son of former Defence Minister Late Manohar Parrikar, lost to the BJP's Atanasio Monseratte, popularly known as Babush, by a slim margin.

Utpal Parrikar had contested the election as an Independent after the BJP fielded Mr Monserrate from Panaji, offering the BJP veteran's son a different constituency.

An engineer, Utpal Parrikar had said he is staking his political career on fighting against the BJP's candidate in Panaji, especially as his father built the party from the ground up in Goa and in particular, the Panaji constituency, NDTV reports.

Manohar Parrikar, a three-time Chief Minister of Goa, had held the Panaji seat for 25 years. In the by-election after his death in 2019, his long-time rival Monserrate, who is accused in a rape case, won as a Congress candidate. Mr Monserrate later switched to the BJP.