PANAJI
Former MGP leader Ketan Bhatikar, who joined the Indian National Congress barely a month ago, has been declared as the party’s candidate for the upcoming Ponda by-election scheduled on April 9.
The Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) had earlier recommended Bhatikar’s name to the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC), which subsequently gave its approval. Notably, the Congress’ Ponda block had initially expressed strong opposition to his candidature.
Confirming the decision, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said in a statement that party president Mallikarjun Kharge has approved the candidature of Dr Ketan Bhatikar for the by-election to the Goa Legislative Assembly from Ponda constituency.
Bhatikar had emerged as a strong contender in the 2022 Assembly elections, where he narrowly lost to former minister Ravi Naik by a margin of around 100 votes.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rajesh Verenkar, who had contested the last election on the party symbol, said that workers are united and focused on defeating the BJP in the by-poll. “This tenure is only for six months, so there is no point in infighting. If the party decides to give the ticket to Ketan Bhatikar, I will support him,” he said.
The by-election to the Ponda constituency is scheduled for April 9. The nomination process is currently underway, with March 23 being the last date for filing nominations.
