Panaji: Candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party filed their nominations for the upcoming Ponda by-election on Monday in the presence of their respective leaders.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, along with members of his cabinet including Digambar Kamat, was present in Ponda and accompanied BJP candidate Ritesh Ravi Naik, son of former minister Ravi Naik, during the filing of his nomination.
The by-election has been necessitated following the demise of Ravi Naik, who was serving as State Agriculture Minister.
Speaking to reporters, Sawant said that the BJP is confident of winning the Ponda by-election, stating that people have witnessed the development carried out by the BJP-led government. He added that voters had supported the party in 2022 by electing Ravi Naik and expressed confidence that the same would be repeated in 2026.
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Amit Patkar, along with Congress MLAs Altone D’Costa and Carlos Alvares Ferreira, accompanied the party’s candidate Dr Ketan Bhatikar while filing his nomination.
AAP candidate Geetesh Naik was accompanied by party MLAs Venzy Viegas and Cruz Silva during the nomination process.
The Ponda by-election is scheduled to be held on April 9.
