Close call for Cong against BJP in Goa

PANAJI, March 3: The Congress party in Goa which narrowly bagged the two Lok Sabha seats in the State today admitted that they underestimated the Bharatiya Janata Party. Both the national parties pushed the incumbent MPs – Ramakant Khalap of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and Churchill Alemao of the United Goan Democratic Party – to the margin of the contest.

"Our mistake is that we did not target the BJP in the same manner as the UGDP. Now we know we have to be careful of the BJP," Minister for Power in the Pratapsingh Rane government said.

Ravi Naik, Congress candidate from the Panaji Lok Sabha constituency won by a narrow margin over BJP’s Pandurang Raut. Sardino, the Congress candidate from Marmugao, despite a neck and neck race with the BJP’s Ramakant Khalap, marched ahead to an 8,000 vote victory in the final stages. The surprise defeats were those of Union Law Minister Ramakant Khalap from Panaji and Churchill Alemao from Murmogoa.