Panaji, Apr 8 Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday termed “shocking” the High Court order on the Ponda assembly byelection after the HC declared the Election Commission of India’s poll notification "null and void", effectively cancelling the April 9 contest.
"The decision of the court is shocking. We are in touch with our Central party leadership," Sawant told reporters.
He said the BJP accepts the HC's order and is awaiting a formal notification from the ECI. "We are yet to get the notification from the ECI," he added.
Sawant claimed BJP candidate Ritesh Naik would have emerged victorious with a margin of 3,500-4,000 votes.
"Although the election has been cancelled, the promises made to the people during the campaign will be fulfilled," he added.
Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar of the Goa bench passed the order on petitions filed by two voters who had challenged the validity of the notification on the ground that less than one year of the current assembly's term is left.
The byelection was necessitated by the death of former Goa minister Ravi Naik in October last year. The ECI had notified polling for April 9 and counting on May 4.
The petitioners argued that under the Representation of the People Act, holding a byelection is not mandatory if the remainder of the Assembly's term is less than one year. The new MLA would serve only for a few months, they pointed out.
