Background
He was born on 18 September 1946 in Ponda, Goa. His father is Sitaram Naik.
He was born on 18 September 1946 in Ponda, Goa. His father is Sitaram Naik.
He started his career in the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. His biodata lists him as an "agriculturist, political and social worker", and his home is in the central Goa sub-district of Ponda. His "favourite pastime and recreation" activities are listed as gardening, music, reading and watching television, while his "special interest" is listed as social service.
Ravi Naik has been the lone legislator in Goa who was a national volleyball player.
He has been chief minister for just a six-day stint in 1994 (when he was controversially appointed by the then Governor). He plays badminton, and according to the Times of India he "began his career by owning a bar and restaurant in Ponda".
Stint as Chief Minister
After quitting that party in 1991, he became the state"s chief minister then and again in 1994. Besides chairing committees in the Goa Assembly, he has also been 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 & Stationary.
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. His ascent to power for his first tenure in 1990-1991 was questioned in a Supreme Court of India case (see link below) over his assumption to power with Indian National Congress support, apparently because of the disqualification he was facing.
Opposition politicians and a section of the media highlighted charges by Swedish model Lucky Farmhouse which suggested the Naik or his kin were someway connected with the narcotics controversy.
Naik contested his first elections in 1980 on a Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party ticket, but lost. 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. Naik lost the 2012 elections to Lavoo Mamledar of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.
I"ve been in politics since 1967. And we were against the merger (of Goa into Maharashtra)," Naik said (in Konkani) in the Prudent television interview below.
In an interview with Prudent television (see link below), 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.
He has been a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly since 1984, but not continuously.