Counting of votes for the by-elections took place at the Bardez BDO office on Monday morning.
In Sirsaim, Ward 6 (OBC reserved) was won by Savalo Mandrekar by a margin of 52 votes. He secured 149 votes while the defeated candidate Umakant Kudnekar got 97 votes. Mandrekar is a supporter of Minister Neelkanth Halarnkar and the BJP.
In Ward 1 of Candolim, Lorenzo Silveira won by a margin of 65 votes. He polled 173 votes while Alma Sequeira got 108 votes, followed by Glen Fernandes (35 votes) and Joseph de Costa (17 votes). This result has come as a setback to Calangute MLA Michael Lobo as Silveira is the president of the Congress block in Calangute.
In Ward 1 of Pilerne-Marra which is reserved for women, Saijal Bandodkar got elected and she is a supporter of MLA Kedar Naik and the BJP.
Saijal is the daughter of North Goa ZP President Reshma Bandodkar and former ZP member Sandeep Bandodkar. The post had fallen vacant due to the resignation of former sarpanch Reshma Bandodker, who later got elected as ZP member and went on to get elected as North Goa ZP President. Saijal polled 268 votes while her opponent secured 128 votes.
When contacted, Saligao MLA Kedar Naik said he was confident that Saijal would get elected from Ward 1.
Earlier, Rakhi Salgaonkar had been elected unopposed from Ward 2 of Salvador de Mundo Panchayat. She is the wife of ZP member Sandeep Salgaonkar and is a supporter of Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte and the BJP.
