PONDA: Drive into Ponda city and Ponda MLA Lavoo Mamledar is busy working on his rally while his focus is the brass Lion statue in front as he wants to drive a point with his MGP symbol.
Few meters away, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar halted at the BJP office after spending the entire morning campaigning for the BJP candidate Sunil Desai. Drive pas the municipal area toward Tisk and at Khadpabandh, where you see thousands of Muslim migrants and Kannada speaking women waiting to meet Ravi Naik with their demands and need for financial assistance. So much so that Ravi asserts that he finds it hard to communicate with them and hence he has got his manifesto published in Kannada.
“Goa’s Catholic population is diminishing as they have been moving out of Goa and Goa is developed and maintained by migrants from Karnataka and Maharashtra including teachers and government servants. So the migrants can’t be ignored,” asserts Ravi.
His press conference gets stalled by the migrants making a ruckus outside his office but he tells them to have patience and he would look into their demands of home and shelter and basic amenities.
And few days ago, Ravi roped in a minister from Karnataka to woo Kannada speaking voters.
Ravi asserts that Ponda has over 900 migrant voters spread across the constituency and having their vote means a win. He patiently listens to their demand and assures them that their needs of regularizing their shanty, being declared Mundkars by the mamlatdar and other demands would be met soon after he comes to power. Ravi hopes that the migrant vote along will send him to the Legislative Assembly.
