PANAJI
Ravi Naik, veteran politician, former Chief Minister, and who served as Agriculture Minister until he passed away on Wednesday at 79, had a long career spanning over four decades — colourful, packed with achievements and personal milestones, including two falls and two comebacks.
Even at the risk of sounding clichéd, none will shy away from saying that 'Patrao' played his innings well, defined by bold decisions, grassroots appeal, and, of course, moments of controversy.
A six-time MLA from Ponda, including one term as MLA of Marcaim, besides one truncated term as MP from North Goa, Ravi was among the few Goan leaders who remained at the centre stage and influential across shifting political landscapes.
He began his career with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), but it was his dramatic 1991 defection — leading a faction of the MGP to merge with the Congress — that catapulted him to the Chief Minister’s chair.
This move of his reshaped Goa’s political arithmetic, gave birth to the rise and eventual dominance in electoral politics of the 'Bhandari Samaj', and marked his own leap to the centre stage of State politics after spending years in the shadows of MGP stalwarts of the time — Ramakant Khalap and the late Dr Kashinath Jhalmi.
This first stint of his as Chief Minister (1991-93) was marked by a strong crackdown on criminal elements, earning him praise for restoring law and order. However, it also drew criticism for allegedly encouraging the large-scale conversion of agricultural and orchard land for construction and real estate development. Critics accused his then government of opening the floodgates to unregulated urbanisation, a charge that would shadow his legacy in planning and environmental circles.
Naik was also known for his sharp wit and memorable one-liners, often delivered with a deadpan expression in the Assembly and outside. His humour became part of Goa’s political folklore, offering moments of levity even during heated debates.
Arguably the tallest leader of the Bhandari Samaj — Goa’s largest OBC community — he was seen as a symbol of empowerment and representation. His rise to power broke caste barriers and inspired a generation of leaders from marginalised backgrounds. One present-day example is former Sports Minister Govind Gaude, whom Ravi groomed from scratch.
Social justice, education, and economic upliftment for the community were some of the areas of governance and public life that Ravi consistently advocated, most notably his relentless quest to fight for the rights of tillers — Kul mundkars and agricultural tenants — under the agricultural land reforms in the State.
In the early 2000s, Naik served as Deputy Chief Minister in Manohar Parrikar’s BJP-led government when he led a group of four Congress MLAs to defect to the BJP.
However, in a dramatic political twist, he ditched the BJP at the eleventh hour ahead of the 2002 Assembly elections, returning to the Congress. The move stunned political observers and was seen as a strategic gamble that underscored Ravi's instinct for survival and reinvention.
Post the 2007 elections, Ravi lost out on the race for chief ministership to current PWD Minister Digambar Kamat and instead served in his cabinet as Home Minister, but the stint was marred by controversy. Allegations of a politician-police-drug mafia nexus gained traction, with critics accusing his ministry of turning a blind eye to Goa’s growing narcotics trade. While Naik denied any wrongdoing, the episode dented his tough-on-crime image and became a focal point for opposition attacks.
His career would not be fully described without mention of his two electoral defeats and an equal number of comeback wins after brief years in political wilderness. It was in the 1994 Assembly elections that Ravi tasted his first shock electoral defeat, losing to current Union Minister Shripad Naik in Marcaim. However, he returned to the electoral battlefield just four years later to score a spectacular comeback and win the North Goa parliamentary seat for the Congress in the 1998 election.
A year later, however, he returned to State politics, winning the Ponda Assembly seat in the 1999 election, and remained a part of the Goa Legislative Assembly until 2012, when he suffered his second electoral defeat to the late Lavoo Mamledar.
Ravi made his second comeback to the Goa Assembly by winning Ponda again on a Congress ticket in 2017. On the eve of the 2022 elections, he switched to the BJP and won again, returning as a Cabinet Minister in Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's cabinet.
In these final years since then, Naik served as Minister for Agriculture and Civil Supplies, where he focused on sustainable farming, water conservation, and farmer welfare. He also piloted the first-ever Agriculture Policy of the State, which reflected a deep understanding of rural challenges and a commitment to ecological stewardship.
Ravi Naik’s legacy is one of bold decisions, grassroots connections, and a complex but impactful public life. His passing is mourned by Goa, even as the State, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and especially the Bhandari Samaj, which he belonged to and so ably led, reflect on the imprint he left on the political and social fabric, and fathom how to fill the void he has left.
