Polling will be conducted in a single phase in Goa, with voting scheduled for February 14, Monday. The campaigning for the Goa election 2022 concluded on February 12, Saturday, with all 40 assemblies.
This year, Goa will see a heated contest and serve as a litmus test for Congress and the BJP. With 17 seats, Congress emerged as the single largest party in 2017, while the BJP received 13. In terms of vote share, the BJP defeated Congress, taking 32.48 percent of the total vote share, a 4 percent increase over Congress.
Over the last five years, Congress has had to cope with a slew of issues in the state, with as many as 15 MLAs leaving the party. Even former Congressman Luizino Falerio resigned to join the newcomer Trinamool Congress (TMC). This year, Congress has fielded 31 new candidates, 18 of whom are running for the first time.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, as well as the TMC, make Goa an intriguing viewing experience this year.
The AAP is contesting the Goa elections for the second time. In the 2017 Goa assembly elections, they contested 39 seats but did not win a single one. However, they did manage to gain roughly 6.27 percent of the vote share.
Goa strengthening polling infrastructure:
The state of Goa has come a long way in making elections accessible to the elderly and disabled. The state’s electoral districts are going to the polls. For the 40-member Goa assembly, 301 people are running.
Additional efforts have undoubtedly been made to make polling booths disabled-friendly, ranging from no steps to ramps with high grades without handrails to permanent ramps with barriers, the availability of wheelchairs to accessible bathrooms, Braille ballot guides, and tactile flooring.
The elderly and persons with disabilities will put these to the test on Monday.
Vishant S Nagvekar, who is on the North Goa district advisory board, said he has been pleasantly surprised to see permanent ramps fitted at some of the polling stations, as well as parking slots reserved for persons with disabilities.
This election, eight polling booths, five in North Goa and three in South Goa, will be staffed nearly entirely by people with disabilities.
Some of these centers, such as the two at Goa College of Pharmacy, had their old toilets modified for the first time, while others, such as the Mapusa ADEI and the government primary school at Karaswada, had new ones built outside the building complete with a ramp, wide doors for a wheelchair to enter, spacious interiors for a wheelchair to turn, grab-bars, western toilets, and, most importantly, flowing water, Nagvekar said.
Over the last week, several people with severe disabilities and those aged 80 and up profited from the ability to vote from the comfort of their own homes for the first time.
Edited By- Subbuthai Padma
Published By- Bharat Anand
