Panaji, March 13 -- A panel of candidates backed by local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Atanasio Monserrate swept the Panaji Municipal Corporation election in Goa, winning 27 of the 30 seats in the state capital, according to results declared by the State Election Commission on Friday.

"I thank the party for giving me the opportunity to lead this panel. The Chief Minister and our party president have given me full backing and supported me throughout. I owe this win to the party. It is the people who are supreme and the people have shown it," Monserrate said after the results were declared.

"All the parties came together to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party, but still the Bharatiya Janata Party is so strong that the coming together of...