Ravi S. Naik (born 18 September 1946) is a former

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

and

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

politician in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, India. He started his career on the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.

Early life

He was born on 18 September 1946 in

Ponda, Goa Ponda (; pt, Pondá), also known as ''Fondya'', is a city and a municipal council in the north Goa district of Goa, India. Located in the central area of Goa, Ponda lies 28 km (17 miles) southeast of Panaji, the capital of Goa and 17&nb ...

. His father is Sitaram Naik. His biodata lists him as an "agriculturist, political and social worker", and his home is in the central Goa sub-district of Ponda. His "favourite pastime and recreation" activities are listed as gardening, music, reading and watching TV, while his "special interest" is listed as social service. Ravi Naik has been the lone legislator in Goa who was a national volleyball player. He has been chief minister for just a six-day stint in 1994 (when he was controversially appointed by the then Governor). He plays badminton, and according to the Times of India he "began his career by owning a bar and restaurant in Ponda".

Political role

Stint as Chief Minister

Naik contested his first elections in 1980 on a Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party ticket, but lost. After quitting that party in 1991, he became the state's chief minister then and again in 1994. He has been a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly since 1984, but not continuously. In 1990, he was part of the team which topped the then ruling

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

party, leading to intercine political instability that dominated much of that decade and more. Besides chairing committees in the Goa Assembly, he has also been a cabinet minister at the regional (Goa) level holding—at different times—the portfolios of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Information & Publicity, Home, Town & Country Planning, Personnel, General Administration, Vigilance, Finance, PWD, Housing, Science and Technology and Printing & Stationery. Naik lost the 2012 elections to Lavoo Mamledar of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. According to the official website of the Goa Assembly, he won the 2007 elections on an Indian National Congress ticket from the Ponda constituency, where a total of 24557 votes were polled. Naik received 9972 votes, and won by a margin of 1656 votes. He also won the 2002 Assembly elections (Ponda, 1320 votes margin), and the 1989 elections (Madkai, 1651 votes margin). Ravi Naik was elected again to the Goa Assembly in the state election of 2017, this time with a margin of 3000 votes. He is a member of five member Congress Legislative Party (CLP) of Goa and remained with the party during the two-thirds split in the CLP in 2019 where 10 MLAs defected to the ruling BJP.

National Parliament, Goa opposition, Deputy Chief Minister

In 1998, after a loss in local politics, he was elected to the national Indian parliament. In 1999, he took over as Leader of the Goa Opposition, and between 2000 and 2002 he was Deputy Chief Minister in the then

government in Goa. "I have not been in elections from yesterday or today. I've been in politics since 1967... and we were against the merger (of Goa into Maharashtra)," Naik said (in Konkani) in the Prudent TV interview below. His son Roy Naik has also been involved in local politics.

Controversies

In an interview with Prudent TV (see link below), he defended his handling of the police in Goa, which had come in for sharp criticism during his tenure at their helm as Home Minister. His ascent to power for his first tenure in 1990-91 was questioned in a Supreme Court of India case (see link below) over his assumption to power with

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

support, apparently because of the disqualification he was facing. The then opposition BJP made allegations against Naik and his son Roy Naik of involvement with the coastal illegal narcotic trade. Opposition politicians and a section of the media highlighted charges by Swedish model Lucky Farmhouse which suggested the Naik or his kin were someway connected with the narcotics controversy.

References

External links

Goa Legislative Assembly official website, page of Ravi S. NaikRavi S. Naik vs Union Of India on 9 February 1994 -- Supreme Court of IndiaRavi S. Naik, biodataRavi S. Naik, election interview 2012 with goasamachardotcom, in HindiPrudent TV interview with Ravi S. Naik, in Konkani
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naik, Ravi Former members of Indian National Congress from Goa Chief Ministers of Goa United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Deputy chief ministers of Goa 1947 births Living people Chief ministers from Indian National Congress People from North Goa district Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party politicians Goa MLAs 2017–2022 Lok Sabha members from Goa India MPs 1998–1999 Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Goa Goa MLAs 1984–1989 Goa MLAs 1989–1994 Goa MLAs 1999–2002 Goa MLAs 2022–2027