Goa: BJP's Monseratte beats Manohar Parrikar's son in Panaji seat with slim margin

Monserrate, who is popularly known as Babush, said he is not happy with the margin and claimed that the BJP supporters did not vote for him.

"I have told this to BJP leaders. They should watch out in the future. The state BJP unit did not send the right message to the people. I am in touch with all BJP leaders and I am with the BJP," he was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Utpal Parrikar had contested the election as an Independent after BJP refused him the Panaji ticket but offered him a different seat.

However, the BJP veteran's son did not budge from his demand, asserting that his father built the party from the ground up in Goa and in particular, the Panaji constituency.

Manohar Parrikar, who was three-time chief minister of Goa, held the seat for had held the Panaji seat for 25 years.

Manohar Parrikar and Monserrate were long term rivals. After Parrikar's death, Monserrate won as a Congress candidate in 2019 by-elections.

He later switched to BJP.

In the 2022 Goa assembly election, AAP and Shiv Sena had openly supported Utpal Parrikar.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had appealed to all non-BJP parties to not field a candidate against Utpal Parrikar as a "tribute" to his father.