BJP choices: The BJP’s emphasis on winnability of candidates seems to have worked. It faced criticism for giving tickets to two couples, choosing defectors over its loyal cadre, but emerged as the single largest party. Divided opposition: The opposition was more of a crowd and less of a group, which reflects in the results. Congress leaders acknowledged that opposition votes were split among parties including the Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress, Revolutionary Goans and independents. AAP entry: After burning its fingers in 2017, AAP spent the last five years contesting local body elections and working on the ground. This election, it has made an entry into the Assembly winning two seats. People over parties: Despite his misadventure between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress, Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco won for the fourth time from Curtorim, this time as an independent. With the exit of Pratapsingh Rane, the Congress lost Poriem, a seat it had held for 45 years, with a record margin of nearly 14,000 votes. Meanwhile, two-time independent Rohan Khaunte, now with the BJP, pulled off a comfortable victory in Porvorim. Rejection of Trinamool: Neither Prashant Kishor’s wizardry nor Mamata Banerjee's persona made an impact as Goans rejected the Trinamool Congress, which had arrived just four months before the election, claiming it was in Goa to win. Newsletter | Click to get the day's best explainers in your inbox
