Ravi Naik

Ravi Sitaram Naik (18 September 1946 – 14 October 2025) was an Indian politician who was the Chief Minister of Goa and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He started his political career as a member of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).

Ravi Naik
Naik in 2022
4th Chief Minister of Goa
In office 25 January 1991 – 18 May 1993
In office 2 April 1994 – 8 April 1994
Member of the Goa Legislative Assembly
In office 2017 – 14 October 2025
Preceded by	Lavoo Mamledar
Constituency	Ponda
In office 1999–2012
Preceded by	Verekar Shivdas Atmaram
Succeeded by	Lavoo Mamledar
Constituency	Ponda
In office 1989–1994
Preceded by	Gaunkar Babusso Sanvlo
Succeeded by	Shripad Naik
Constituency	Marcaim
In office 1984–1989
Preceded by	Aguiar Jolido Souza
Succeeded by	Verekar Shivdas Atmaram
Constituency	Ponda
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 10 March 1998 – 26 April 1999
Preceded by	Ramakant Khalap
Succeeded by	Shripad Naik
Constituency	North Goa
Cabinet Minister to the Government of Goa
In office March 2022 – 14 October 2025
Personal details
Born	(1946-09-18)18 September 1946 Ponda, Goa, Portuguese India
Died	14 October 2025(2025-10-14) (aged 79) Ponda, Goa, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Other political affiliations	Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (until 1991)

Personal life and death

Ravi Sitaram Naik^[1] was born in Ponda, Goa on 18 September 1946. His father was Sitaram Naik.^[2]

His biodata listed him as an "agriculturist, political and social worker", and his home was in the central Goa sub-district of Ponda. His "favourite pastime and recreation" activities were listed as gardening, music, reading and watching television, while his "special interest" was listed as social service.^{[citation needed]}

Naik was the only legislator in Goa^[3] who was a national volleyball player. He was chief minister for just a 6 day stint in 1994 (when he was controversially appointed by the then Governor). He played badminton, and according to the Times of India^[3] he "began his career by owning a bar and restaurant in Ponda".

Naik died from a heart attack in Ponda, on 14 October 2025, at the age of 79.^[4]

Political role

Stint as Chief Minister

Took office	Left office	Party	Days in office
25 January 1991	18 May 1993	Indian National Congress Indian National Congress, after breaking away from Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party	844 days
2 April 1994	8 April 1994	Indian National Congress INC, in power for few days following decision of Governor Bhanu Prakash Singh, subsequently the latter was removed from office by New Delhi.	6 days [total 850 days]

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 had 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 party, leading to intercine political instability that dominated much of that decade and more.

Besides chairing committees in the Goa Assembly, he was also 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 in the early 2010s

Ravi Naik was elected again to the Goa Assembly in the state election of 2017, this time with a margin of 3000 votes. He was 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.

Naik was re-elected in 2022 state election as a BJP candidate.

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 Bharatiya Janata Party 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.

Reception

In an interview with Prudent TV, 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 over his assumption to power with Indian National Congress 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.^[5] Opposition politicians and a section of the media highlighted charges by Swedish model Lucky Farmhouse which suggested that Naik or his kin were in some way connected with the narcotics controversy.^[6]

See also

• List of Bhandaris