PANAJI: Congress leader Girish Chodankar said on Monday that the party has approached the Supreme Court over the cancellation of the Ponda assembly bypoll in Goa.According to Chodankar, Congress candidate Dr Ketan Bhatikar has filed a Special Leave Petition in the top court against the Bombay High Court order that set aside the by-election. The bypoll, scheduled for April 9, was necessitated following the death of sitting BJP MLA Ravi Naik on October 15, 2025. The Bombay High Court’s Goa bench on April 8 struck down the Election Commission of India’s notification for the bypoll, stating that it violated the Representation of the People Act as less than one year remained in the current term of the Goa legislative assembly, which ends on March 14, 2027. The court observed that the winning candidate would have served only around nine months. The petition before the High Court was filed by two voters from the constituency, who argued that the notification was invalid due to the short remaining tenure of the House. “Goa CM’s fear of losing the bye-election, prompts misuse of constitutional institutions to cancel polls,” Chodankar alleged in a post on X. He said voters in Ponda were denied their right to vote despite preparations being completed, including ballot arrangements and campaigning, with the election cancelled just hours before polling.
“The Election Commission didn’t appeal, a blow to democracy. Our Goa Congress candidate Dr Ketan Bhatikar has moved the Supreme Court to restore the people’s right to representation; listing expected this week,” Chodankar added. The poll was cancelled even after postal ballots had been cast, as the High Court refused to stay its order. While the ruling BJP called the decision shocking, the Congress alleged that the party and the Election Commission had acted in a coordinated manner to delay the notification and get the election cancelled.
