PANAJI
A day after Union Minister Shripad Naik dispelled reports that he may opt out from the electoral fray in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, for health reasons, BJP State president Sadanand Shet Tanavade asserted that the senior leader will indeed be the party candidate for the North Goa seat.
"Shripad Naik is Minister at the Centre and our senior-most leader. Everyone knows that he will be our candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls," Tanavade said, adding that he was unaware of who was responsible for the controversies and misunderstanding.
Tanavade also said that there was no one other than Naik who has shown interest in contesting the Lok Sabha polls or approached the party for the ticket.
Naik had on Friday stoutly refuted reports that his 'failing health' could force him out of the contest.
"There is some speculation that I will not contest on health grounds. This is not true. Healthwise, I am fine,” Naik had said.
Considered one of the architects along with the late Manohar Parrikar and a handful of core 'Kariyakatas' of the BJP's growth from the fringes in the 1990s to the centre-stage of Goa's political chessboard, Naik has won the North Goa Lok Sabha seat for five successive elections since 1999.
Before his over two-decades-long innings in Parliament, Naik also did one term as MLA of the Goa legislative assembly between 1994-99 representing the Marcaim constituency. He has also served multiple terms as the BJP's State president.
