The Bharatiya Ja nata Party (BJP) on Thurs day named Ritesh Ravi Naik as its candidate for the high-stakes Ponda As sembly by-election. The decision was final ised at a meeting of the Central Election Committee held on March 18, chaired by party president Nitin Nabin, in the presence of senior leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, according to a party communiqué. Ritesh Naik is the son of former Goa minister Ravi Naik, whose death on Oc tober 14 last year led to the vacancy in the Ponda seat. His candidature fol lows a keen internal con test, with senior BJP work er Vishwanath Dalvi also in the fray for the ticket.
Soon after the announcement, Ritesh Naik was felicitated by supporters at his residence in the presence of State BJP president Damu Naik and Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar. Launching his campaign, Naik, accompanied by party workers, sought blessings at the Zareshwar temple in Pon da and later at the Tapobhoomi Peeth in Kundaim, where he met Swami Brahmeshanand. The ticket allocation comes amid sustained demands from the Gomantak Bhandari Samaj to field Naik, citing the need to carry forward the political legacy of his father, a prominent Bahujan and Bhandari leader in the state.
