Navi Mumbai: Former MLA Sandeep Naik on Saturday rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), marking his return to the party more than a year after his exit and ahead of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) elections.
Naik, son of Maharashtra forest minister Ganesh Naik, formally rejoined the BJP in the presence of state BJP president Ravindra Chavan. He later met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to discuss a development roadmap for Navi Mumbai.
Naik had quit the BJP in October 2024 after the party denied him a ticket from the Belapur assembly constituency, choosing to renominate sitting MLA Manda Mhatre. At the time, he resigned as the BJP’s Navi Mumbai district president and joined the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar). He then contested the 2024 assembly elections as a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate but lost to Mhatre by a narrow margin of 377 votes.
Despite the 2024 electoral setback, party sources see Naik’s return as a strategic move to strengthen the BJP’s position in Navi Mumbai ahead of the civic polls. A former two-term MLA from Airoli, Naik is considered an influential organisational leader with a strong local base, and his return to the BJP is expected to galvanize local party workers.
Speaking on his return, Naik said the BJP offered the most stable platform for the city’s growth. “Today, for the overall development of the country, Maharashtra, and especially Navi Mumbai, the BJP is the most capable, stable, and visionary option,” Naik stated. “To effectively raise the issues of Navi Mumbai residents and work in the interest of the city, I have rejoined the BJP.”
{{/usCountry}}Speaking on his return, Naik said the BJP offered the most stable platform for the city’s growth. “Today, for the overall development of the country, Maharashtra, and especially Navi Mumbai, the BJP is the most capable, stable, and visionary option,” Naik stated. “To effectively raise the issues of Navi Mumbai residents and work in the interest of the city, I have rejoined the BJP.”
{{/usCountry}}The return also reunites the family’s political loyalties, as his father, Ganesh Naik, had remained with the BJP throughout the period and currently serves as the state forest minister.
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