PANJALI: The Opposition Congress has approached the Supreme Court against the cancellation of the Ponda assembly seat byelection in Goa, party leader Girish Chodankar said on Monday.
Dr Ketan Bhatikar, who was the Opposition party's candidate for the Ponda assembly seat, has filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court to challenge the Bombay High Court's order which cancelled the bypoll, Congress Working Committee member Chodankar told PTI.
The bypoll, necessitated by the death of sitting BJP MLA Ravi Naik on October 15, 2025, was to take place on April 9.
The Bombay High Court's Goa bench on April 8 quashed the Election Commission of India's notification for the byelection, citing violation of the Representation of the People Act, as the legislature's term is set to expire in less than a year.
Two registered voters in the constituency had moved the HC challenging the validity of the notification on the ground that less than one year of the current Goa legislative assembly's term was left. The term will expire on March 14, 2027.
The court agreed with the contention, noting that as the result would have been declared on May 4, the winning candidate would have got only about nine months as an MLA.
"Goa CM's fear of losing the bye-election, prompts misuse of constitutional institutions to cancel polls," Chodankar alleged in a post on X.
The people of Ponda deserved to vote and have their MLA. Campaigns were fought, ballots were issued, candidates were ready, but just 16 hours before polling, the bye-election was struck down, he noted.
"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 election was cancelled last week even though postal ballots had already been cast, as the high court refused to stay its judgment.
While the ruling BJP had termed the decision as shocking, the Congress accused it of conniving with the ECI to get the election cancelled by delaying the notification.