Goa, April 10 -- Thursday morning should have been election day. Instead, it became the morning Ponda was told to go home. Hours before polling was to begin for the Ponda Assembly by-election, the High Court of Bombay at Goa issued an order cancelling the polls - catching voters, candidates, and even the government entirely off guard. At least one voter had already made his way to the polling booth at Khandepar before the news reached him; he turned around and went home. Across Ponda, the mood followed suit. The constituency has been without an MLA since October 15 last year, when the sitting legislator passed away.

After nearly five months of waiting - and weeks of an intense campaign that had energised even first-time voters - the pros...