Ganesh Naik

Ganesh Naik was born on 15 September 1950^[10] in the village of Bonkode, located in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.^[11] He comes from a family of farmers^[12] and began serving the people of Navi Mumbai at a young age. He has held various positions such as a trade union leader and served on Gram Panchayats.^[10] In 1994-95, he was elected as MLA in the state of Maharashtra. During his tenure, he served as the Minister of Environment in the Maharashtra government. He was re-elected as an MLA for two consecutive terms from 2004 to 2009 and 2009 to 2014.^[10] Throughout these periods, he held the position of Cabinet Minister for Excise, Environment, and New & Renewable Energies.^[13] In 2019, he was elected for his fourth term as an MLA from the Airoli constituency in Navi Mumbai.^[14] In the assembly elections conducted in November-2024 he won again with an amazing 1.5 Lakh votes leaving all the cantestents far behind. He is the only MLA from Airoli constituency to continue 5 terms. He has also sworn in as a cabinet minister under the Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadanavis. He was among the top ten candidates who won with a record margin.^[15] Ganesh Naik and his wife, Mandakini Naik, have two sons named Sanjeev Naik and Sandeep Naik.^[10]

Ganesh Naik began his career as an MLA in 1990 with Shiv Sena.^[12] He joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in the year 1999 when Sharad Pawar founded the party.^[16] He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019.^[17]

In July 2019, Ganesh Naik, his younger son, Sandeep Naik, and over 50 corporators from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and then party's Maharashtra unit chief Chandrakant Patil at Vashi in Navi Mumbai.^[17]

During the March 2023 Maharashtra State Assembly Session, Ganesh raised 245 objections and provided suggestions for Navi Mumbai's 20-year development plan,^[18] emphasizing the importance of essential civic facilities and infrastructure in different areas. He also spoke about the shortcomings of initial planning by CIDCO in the 1970s. Ganesh also pointed out that CIDCO is yet to transfer 550 amenities plots to NMMC.^[19]

In addition, Ganesh has urged the government to facilitate the transfer of remaining amenity plots from MIDC to NMMC for the provision of amenities in MIDC areas.^[20]

Ganesh's party has maintained control over the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) since its establishment in 1992.^[21] The NMMC has undertaken various municipal projects, such as the construction of the Morbe Dam, digitization of municipal schools, and the establishment of municipal hospitals.^[22]

Ganesh gained recognition as the first minister in Maharashtra to introduce Janata Darbar, a public forum connecting citizens with civic administration to address grievances. He conducted numerous Janata Darbars in both urban and rural areas.^[23]