Team Herald
PONDA: Venktesh Naik was elected the chairman of Ponda Municipal Council (PMC), on Thursday.
Venktesh defeated his rival Veerendra Dhavlikar of MGP by 12 to 3 Votes. Geetali Talavlikar of MGP withdrew her nomination at last moment. The voting was held secret ballot paper.
In the 15-member council, seven councillors owe allegiance to MGP has, five to BJP and three to Congress. Since Venktesh polled 12 votes, it goes to show that councillors affiliated to MGP and Congress voted for him.
Mapusa Chief Officer Clen Madheira was the returning officer for the election and he was assisted by PMC chief officer Vishal Kundaikar.
The post of Ponda Municipal chairman had fallen vacant after the ouster of Pradeep Naik in a no confidence motion two weeks ago.
Addressing the media after his election, Venktesh Naik said that those who voted for him have the same objective as his. “We are committed to the development of Ponda. With the cooperation of the chief minister and the Ponda MLA, we will complete all the pending works.”
The newly elected chairman has many challenges before him: completing pending golden jubilee project, making the Ponda market project operational, and finding more space for parking and reducing the traffic congestion.
