Panaji:
In a setback to the Congress party in Goa, its candidate Raymond D'Sa has withdrawn from the Cortalim by-polls, paving way for the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) contestant, Alina Saldanha's win.
Mr Saldanha was pitted against D'Sa and independent candidate Ramakant Borkar.
On the last day of the withdrawal of nominations, both the candidates withdrew, setting the stage for Alina Saldanha to be elected unopposed from the constituency.
"I am withdrawing because I am not getting necessary support from Congress," D'Sa said minutes after applying for withdrawal from the fray.
The by-poll in Cortalim was necessitated after the death of BJP legislator Matanhy Saldanha, Alina's husband.
The election was slated on June 4.
Mr D'Sa's withdrawal from the fray was unexpected for Congress which was hoping to salvage its pride by winning the by-poll.
The party was reduced to a single digit number in the state legislative assembly after the March 3 Goa assembly election which saw BJP come back to power.
Ramakant Borkar, who initially wanted to contest on the United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) ticket, had expressed his wish to be an independent candidate. He too applied for the withdrawal.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told reporters that Alina would be inducted in the state cabinet within a fortnight.