The election to the 40-member Legislative Assembly of the state of Goa will be held
on February 14, 2022, in a single phase, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Saturday. The results will be declared along with 4 other states on March 10, 2022.

Candidate expenditure will be Rs. 28 lakhs for Goa and Manipur.

The issue of notification will take place on January 21, 2022. The last date of nominations is January 28, 2022. The scrutiny of nominations will be on January 29, 2022. The last date of withdrawal of candidature will be January 31, 2022. 

The announcement comes a day after the Chief Minister of
Goa, Pramod Sawant, declared that all public meetings in the state will be
restricted to a capacity of 50 per cent in indoor venues, and up to 100 people
in any outdoor meetings. The decision was taken due the recent spike of COVID-19
cases in the coastal state.

The state of Goa has 40 constituencies. In the previous elections held in February 2017, the Bhartiya Janata Party had formed a government in the state, appointing
Manohar Parrikar as the Chief Minister. In the elections, BJP had a vote share
of 32%, surpassing Congress by 4%. After the demise of Manohar Parrikar in
2019, BJP’s Pramod Sawant
was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state on March 17, 2019.

While the Aam Aadmi
Party had also contested in the 2017 elections, the party was unable to bag a
single seat. This year, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has geared up yet again,
announcing the first list of 10 candidates who will contest in the polls. The list
was released on the party’s official Twitter handle on Friday. The party has
decided to contest 40 candidates for the state’s 40 constituencies.

AAP became the second
party to declare its first list, after Congress. Congress also announced 10 candidates
in its first list.

Also Read: Aam Aadmi Party releases list of three candidates for Punjab Elections 2022

The state of Goa is set
to conduct its elections in an environment-friendly manner, without the use of
plastic. The polling will put bamboo bins, baskets, and coconut shells to use. Voters
will be able to cast their vote from a bamboo booth and get clicked in a photo booth
made from coconut leaves.

Also Read: Lessons forgotten: Election rallies in India help in surge of COVID-19 

The eco-friendly voting
system in 1,722 polling stations aims to reduce carbon footprint and promote
local handicraft.