Panaji, May 23 (IANS): The sitting BJP MP from South Goa, Narendra Sawaikar, on Thursday accepted defeat in the Lok Sabha elections against former Chief Minister of the state and Congress candidate Francisco Sardinha.
In a Facebook message, Sawaikar said: "I accept my defeat. I thank everyone for the support and co-operation throughout my tenure as MP."
While the final results were not out yet, as per the data received so far, Sawaikar polled 1,66,072 votes, while Congress' Sardinha polled 1,81,340 votes. Aam Aadmi Party's Elvis Gomes polled 19,304 votes, while 4,808 voters opted for NOTA.
In the battle for the North Goa seat, Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Naik was leading his closest rival and state Congress President Girish Chodankar by 53,903 votes. Naik has polled 1,89,576 votes against Chodankar's 1,35,673 votes.