Goa yielded mixed results for the BJP with the party winning one Lok Sabha seat but losing the other and winning three of the four Assembly bypolls on Thursday.
The party, however, lost the prestigious Panaji Assembly seat, which was held by the ruling party since 1994, largely represented by late Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
The winning of the three Assembly bypolls has strengthened the BJP-led coalition government in the State, according to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik won the North Goa Lok Sabha seat for the fifth consecutive term by over 80,247 votes defeating his nearest Congress rival Girish Chodankar who polled 1,64,597 votes.
Sitting BJP South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar conceded defeat even before the final votes could be tallied. Mr. Sawaikar polled 1,91,581 votes as against the Congress’s Francisco Sardinha, a former Chief Minister who polled 2,00,972 votes.
“I accept my defeat. I thank everyone for the support and cooperation throughout my tenure as MP,” Mr. Sawaikar said in a social media post.