Kamal Ghorui
Panaji: With the EC on Sunday announcing the byelection for the Ponda assembly constituency on April 9 and the counting of votes on May 4, political parties in Goa have rolled up their sleeves to secure victory and set the tone for the assembly polls scheduled next year. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of agriculture minister and former CM Ravi Naik on Oct 14, 2025, due to cardiac arrest.The byelection will be a litmus test for BJP, as the party had never won the seat until the 2022 assembly election, when Naik switched sides and joined BJP after leaving Congress.BJP will leave no stone unturned, as the election is considered prestigious for chief minister Pramod Sawant. A political observer said that in a byelection the party running govt usually has the upper hand, but in Ponda it will be interesting to see whether BJP can retain the seat in the absence of Naik, who was also considered the tallest leader of the Bhandari community in Goa.The result of the Ponda byelection will help political parties gauge the pulse of the people, as Goa will face a general election within nine months of the byelection result.The Ponda byelection will be the first assembly election in Goa after the chief electoral officer (CEO), Goa, completed the special intensive revision (SIR).BJP is likely to give the ticket to Naik’s son, Ritesh, who may face a one-to-one contest against Congress candidate. Recently, MGP candidate from the previous election, Ketan Bhatikar, joined Congress after MGP, a coalition partner in Sawant’s govt, announced its support for Ritesh to contest the byelection.Bhatikar had faced a narrow defeat in the 2022 assembly election to Naik by just 77 votes. MGP has won the Ponda seat several times in the past, and Ravi Naik first contested an assembly election on an MGP ticket and got elected in 1984.Even though MGP has extended its support to BJP candidate, it is expected to be a tough contest between BJP and Congress in Ponda, as there is a sizeable number of minority electorates in the constituency.BJP state president Damodar Naik said that two names have been forwarded to the central leadership to finalise the candidate. BJP is likely to announce the candidate by Wednesday. The two names sent by the party include Ritesh and Vishwanath Dalvi.State Congress president Amit Patkar said that the party will try to ensure a straight fight between Congress and BJP, and that it will approach all opposition parties to support its candidate. Congress will hold a meeting on Monday to finalise the candidate, he said.
