Panaji: The Ponda byelection will witness a triangular fight among BJP, Congress and AAP, with BJP candidate and former chief minister Ravi Naik’s son Ritesh, Congress candidate Ketan Bhatikar and AAP candidate Geetesh Naik filing their nominations on Monday.The byelection for Ponda constituency is scheduled to be held on April 9.. All three political parties have expressed confidence of winning the seat with a huge margin.
The seat was vacant following the death of Ravi due to a heart attack.In the 2022 assembly election, there were six candidates in the fray. It was a direct fight between Ravi, who was the BJP candidate, and Bhatikar, who was the MGP candidate. Ravi won with a margin of 77 votes. This time around, MGP has formed an alliance with BJP, and Bhatikar has left MGP to contest on a Congress ticket.BJP and Congress supporters had a face-off at the nomination centre when they gathered to support their candidate on Monday. The police intervened and cleared the venue. Chief minister Pramod Sawant, BJP state president Damodar Naik, MGP senior leader Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar and other cabinet ministers were present when Naik filed his nomination.Similarly, leader of opposition Yuri Alemao, Congress president Amit Patkar and opposition MLAs were present for the filing of Bhatikar’s nomination papers. AAP president Valmiki Naik and both AAP MLAs were present for the nomination of Geetesh.Sawant said, “To pay tribute to Ravi, residents of Ponda should elect BJP in the byelection. We will win the seat with a huge margin.”Stating that MGP has a strong base in Ponda, Dhavalikar was confident Ritesh would win the election. Alemao said the Congress candidate would win with a huge margin. He added that when people speak about Ravi’s legacy, his and the Congress legacy are on the same principle. AAP president Valmiki Naik said the party has assured the people of Ponda to fulfil all their assurances within eight months and, in case the party fails, they shouldn’t vote for AAP in the assembly election in 2027.
