78 candidates to battle for 30 CCP wards

Panaji: On the last day of filing nominations for the upcoming Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) elections scheduled for March 11, the total candidate count rose to 78 for 30 wards. It is lower than the candidate count at the 2021 poll, in which 95 contested.Of the 30 wards, ward 26 (unreserved) has the highest number of five candidates. Three wards have four candidates, nine have three candidates, and 16 wards have only two candidates contesting.John Po, 24, is the youngest candidate contesting the CCP elections. He is up against sitting mayor Rohit Monserrate from ward 4.Seven wards are reserved for women candidates, while four are reserved for OBC candidates, three for OBC women, and one for ST women candidates.Nominations will be scrutinised on Wednesday, and the candidates list will be announced on Thursday.