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Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Vinay Tendulkar Friday won the election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Goa by defeating Congress candidate Shantaram Naik, who is also president of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee. Tendulkar secured 22 votes, while Naik polled 16 votes.
Tendulkar, who is also the state president of BJP, has become the first Rajya Sabha member of the party from Goa.
Congratulating Tendulkar on being elected as the first BJP Rajya Sabha member from Goa, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said that he was satisfied with the result and that it has happened as per his expectation.
Tendulkar was supported by all the coalition partners in the Parrikar-led government including Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Goa Forward Party and Independents, besides Nationalist Congress Party MLA Churchill Alemao.
Congress candidate Naik, who is also the sitting MP, was banking on the support from like-minded parties. All the Congress legislators voted for their candidate as against the recently held presidential election, which saw some party legislators cross-voting in favour of NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind.
After winning the Rajya Sabha election, Tendulkar said that this is the victory of BJP and its alliance partners and assured that he will try to work to his best ability as Rajya Sabha member in the interest of Goa. He said that with this victory, BJP in Goa has completed its task of winning all elections – panchayat, municipal council, zilla panchayat, assembly, Lok Sabha and now Rajya Sabha.
