Catholic votes key to BJP win

When the first results began streaming in,the BJP party office and the large open ground outside the Kare Law College in Margao witnessed wild celebrations by workers forcing Congress candidates,including Churchill Alemao and four members of his family,to leave the venue.

The party leaders said the BJP owed its success to the votes it got from the Catholics,who have been traditionally linked to the Congress,especially in Salcette region. The BJP won four seats here. The BJP had fielded a total of six Catholic candidates this time and all of them won. Francis DSouza,the party candidate from Mapusa,has been elected with the highest margin in the state of over 10,000 votes.

The partys most prominent face,Manohar Parrikar,a five-time MLA,is set to be the next Chief Minister. An IIT-Bombay engineer with a strong RSS background,Parrikar has re-emerged on Goas political scene.

He is expected to stake claim to form the government on Wednesday.

I am thankful to the Goan people for giving such a decisive verdict. They have given us the strength to work on various subjects with stability, Parrikar said after a meeting with the newly-elected MLAs.