Panchayat polls underway in Goa; 5,038 candidates in fray

Polling was underway for 186 panchayat bodies in Goa on Wednesday with more than 5,000 candidates in the fray, an official said.

The polling began at 8 am and will conclude at 5 pm, it was stated.

At least 5,038 candidates are contesting the panchayat polls from 1,464 wards across Goa, an official from the state election commission said.

A total of 64 candidates have already been elected unopposed from different village panchayats, of which 41 are from North Goa and 23 from South Goa, the senior official said.

North Goa district has 97 panchayats with 2,667 candidates in the fray, while 2,371 are contesting polls for 89 panchayats in South Goa, he said.

There are 3,85,867 voters in North Goa and 4,11,153 in South Goa, as per official data.

The administration has already imposed Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) across the state, and liquor ban has also been enforced on Tuesday and Wednesday.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)