Assembly elections: Goa records 44.63 pc voter turnout till 1 pm

Panaji (Goa) [India], February 14 (ANI): Goa reported 44.63 per cent voter turnout till 1 pm for all the 40 assembly constituencies as polling for single-phase State Assembly elections are underway, informed Election Commission of India on Monday.
The polling in the coastal state began at 7 am and will end at 6 pm today.
As per Election Commission data, Sanquelim from where Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is contesting Goa Assembly polls continues to witness the highest percentage of voters' turnout of 54 per cent followed by Sanguem with 53.91 per cent voter turnout.
In the Priol constituency, around 51.55 per cent of people have cast their votes till 1 pm and Quepem has recorded a voter turnout of 50.94 per cent.
Valpoi recorded the lowest voter turnout with 39 per cent till 1 pm, according to the Election Commission of India. BJP's Vishwajeet Rane is fighting against the Goan revolutionary party's candidate, Manoj Parab and Congress' Manisha Shenvi Usgaonkar.
A total of 301 candidates from different political parties are in the electoral fray in Goa.
The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is challenged by Congress, Trinamool Congress, and Aam Admi Party (AAP) in a multi-cornered electoral contest in Goa.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is contesting from the Sanquelim constituency against Congress' Dharamesh Saglani while the BJP candidate from Margao seat, Manohar Ajgaonkar has been pitched against Congress nominee Digambar Vasant Kamat.
Goa Assembly has a strength of 40 members out of which the BJP currently has 17 legislators and enjoys the support of legislators from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), Vijay Sardesai of the Goa Forward Party (GFP), and three independents. The GFP and MGP each have three MLAs, and Congress, on the other hand, has 15 MLAs in the house.
The counting of votes in Goa will take place on March 10. (ANI)