the goan I network
VALPOI
He may not have been officially declared the BJP party candidate as yet, but Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik’s candidature in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls has received support from unexpected quarters: the Opposition camp.
In a major embarrassment to the Congress party, former chief minister and senior Congress MLA from Poriem Pratapsing Rane campaigned strongly for Naik and even appealed to people to support the union minister in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking at a function to lay the foundation stone for an indoor sports complex at Zarme-Sattari at an estimated cost of Rs 86 lakh funded from the MPLAD scheme, people were taken by surprise to find Rane praising the rival BJP party’s leader and North Goa MP Shripad Naik.
“A candidate like Shripad Naik, who is the union AYUSH minister, should be elected once again for the betterment of society. He has contributed a lot for the development of the common man by implementing many projects from the MP funds.”
“People should keep their differences aside and should support Shripad Naik in upcoming Lok Sabha elections.”
Speaking further, Rane said Naik had contributed a lot for the development of Sattari Taluka and said such a leader should be elected again in the LS elections.
In his address, Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik said people had supported him for the last 20 years as a parliamentarian and added that over 1,000 projects had been completed during his present five-year tenure.
“Funds have been distributed equally in all constituencies of North Goa and there
