log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline MONDAY MARCH 16, 2026 GOA Can WRD turn the tide for River Sal this time? Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 12 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME XI, NO. 267 3 GOA Pier cap removal at Porvorim flyover site planned, not structural fault: PWD 5 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Frequent toe cramps: What your body is trying to tell you 9 SPORTS Man United sinks Aston Villa to boost top-four bid 12 Politics set to heat up, Ponda Stage set for high-stakes polls in four States, UT heads for by-poll on April 9 n CODE OF CONDUCT COMES INTO FORCE n FILING OF NOMINATIONS FROM TODAY n RESULTS ON MAY 4  THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The State’s political cauldron is set to boil in the coming days with the Election Commission of India having announced that the byelection to the Ponda Assembly constituency, necessitated by the death of former chief minister Ravi Naik last October, will be held on April 9. The Commission declared the schedule at a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday afternoon and the official gazette notification will be issued on Monday. As per the schedule, nominations  will be accepted from Monday until March 23, with scrutiny on March 24. The deadline for withdrawal of candidatures is March 26. Polling will take place on April 9, and counting of votes is slated for three weeks later on May 4.  Administrative machinery and political parties, meanwhile, have swung into action, Code casts shadow on Assembly session; Govt will seek ECI view, says Sawant PANAJI: The Model code of conduct (MCC) has come into immediate effect in Ponda and the entire South District casting a shadow on the remainder of the ongoing budget session of the Goa Legislative Assembly.  The MCC puts curbs on policy announcements and government decisions that could sway or impact the electorate which could put the treasury benches, particularly the Chief Minister, Pramod Sawant and cabinet ministers in a bit of a spot during the House proceedings.  Meanwhile, speaking on the code of conduct, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said the government will seek the view of ECI on the ongoing Assembly session. “I don’t think that there will be any issue as far as Assembly session is concerned… it will go as per schedule… we will however seek ECI Goa view on the matter”, Sawant said. preparing for what is expected to be a keenly contested battle,  coming as it does ahead of the general assembly election due in February-March next year. The vacancy arose follow- ing the death of Ravi Naik on October 15, 2025. Naik, a towering figure in Goan politics, had represented Ponda multiple times. His passing left a significant void, making this byeelection CONGRESS TO SHORTLIST NAMES TODAY 3 >> See pg 5 politically sensitive. Ponda is considered one of Goa’s most influential constituencies and political observers say the contest will be intense, with major parties eyeing the seat. The ruling BJP State president Damu Naik has confirmed that the party’s Central Parliamentary Board will finalize their candidate and the State unit has already  shortlisted and dispatched names of two probables. Naik’s son Ritesh and Vishwanath Dalvi, a long standing karyakarta of the saffron party in Ponda are reportedly the two probables recommended to the party’s Delhi leadership by the State unit. On the other hand, the Congress State president Amit Patkar has announced that the party’s candidate will be declared by the party’s CEC in Delhi soon. Ketan Bhatikar, who was a close runner-up to Naik losing by just 99 votes in 2022 and recently switched from the MGP to the Congress is a frontrunner as is the party’s own leader, Rajesh Verenkar, who also did extremely well in the 2022 outing. Other political parties  like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) could also possibly throw their hat in the ring. Meanwhile, adding to the intrigue is a shift in the electoral arithmetic in Ponda with the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls reducing the electorate by 4,230 voters compared to the 2022 Assembly election.  The rolls published and notified after SIR in February has downsized Ponda’s total electorate from 32,157 to 27,927 and analysts say this could alter strategies and potentially benefit one or the other parties, though the exact impact remains uncertain. n SINGLE PHASE IN ASSAM, KERALA, PUDUCHERRY, TN; 2 PHASES IN BENGAL n COUNTING ON MAY 4 PTI NEW DELHI Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will be held on a single day on April 9, in Tamil Nadu on April 23 and in two phases in West Bengal on April 23 and 29, while votes will be counted for all polls on May 4, the Election Commission announced on Sunday. Compared to eight voting days spread across almost a month in 2021, there will be three polling days in a 20day period in these elections, which will see the BJP trying to retain power in Assam, while it will be pitted against ruling parties in West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Puducherry is governed by NDA partner All India N R Congress. A total of 17.4 crore voters are eligible to vote in the elections to five assemblies with 824 constituencies, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said at a press conference here. Voting for all seats in Assam will be held on April 9. Voting in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Voters match population of 5 nations: EC NEW DELHI: A total of 17.4 crore voters -- equivalent to the population of Australia, France, South Africa, Germany and Canada -- are eligible to take part in the forthcoming assembly elections in four States Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said on Sunday. The 17 crore plus voters in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Kerala, and one Union Territory, Puducherry will elect 824 MLAs, Addressing a press conference, Kumar said the number of total voters of the four states and UT is equivalent to the population of Australia, France, South Africa, Germany and Canada. “The voting for all seats in Kerala and Puducherry will take place on April 9, while all Tamil Nadu seats will go to polls on April 23,” said Kumar, who was flanked by the two Election Commissioners -- Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. The model code of conduct has come into effect immediately with the announcement of the poll schedule. Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala are currently ruled by opposition DMK, Trinamool Congress and Left Front, respectively. There are 234 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu where DMK leader M K Stalin has been the CM since 2021. West Bengal has a total of 294 assembly seats with TMC leader Mamata Banerjee in power since 2011. Kerala has 140 seats and Left leader Pinarayi Vijayan has been the chief minister since 2016, leading the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. In Assam, there are 126 assembly seats, and the BJP has been in power in the Northeastern state since 2016. Himanta Biswa Sarma has been the chief minister since 2021.