Voting for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections is set to take place on May 7 across 93 constituencies, including both Lok Sabha seats of Goa – North Goa and South Goa. The states and Union territories participating in this phase also include Assam (4 constituencies), Bihar (5 constituencies), Chhattisgarh (7 constituencies), Gujarat (26 constituencies), Karnataka (14 constituencies), Maharashtra (11 constituencies), Uttar Pradesh (10 constituencies), West Bengal (4 constituencies), and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (2 constituencies).
The North Goa seat has remained a stronghold for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 1999, previously known as the Panaji Lok Sabha constituency. While the constituency saw a transition between the Congress and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party from 1962 to 1998, the saffron party has maintained its dominance since 1999. Shripad Yesso Naik, the current representative, has won every election from the seat since 1999 and is seeking his sixth consecutive victory. The Congress has nominated former deputy CM of Goa, Ramakant Khalap, from North Goa.
In the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency, the current representative, former chief minister of Goa Francisco Sardinha of the Indian National Congress (INC), secured victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by defeating BJP leader Narendra Keshav Sawaikar by a substantial margin. Despite his past wins, Sardinha has been replaced by Captain Viriato Fernandes from the Congress in the upcoming elections. The BJP has fielded Pallavi Shrinivas Dempo, the wealthiest candidate in the third phase of the elections, with assets worth Rs 1,361 crore declared in her 119-page affidavit. The Congress has historically held an advantage in this constituency, winning 10 elections since 1977.
