PANAJI
The BJP finds itself walking a political tightrope over the implementation of Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservation in the Goa Legislative Assembly, with the move expected to reshape the party’s electoral strategy ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
While the BJP's Goa unit is aggressively pursuing the issuance of the final notification to operationalise The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Act, party leaders privately acknowledge that the exercise could present significant political challenges.
At the same time, there is growing apprehension within the party that if the notification is not issued within this month, implementation of ST reservation could be deferred until after the next Assembly elections, effectively pushing it to 2031.
The legislation provides for reservation of four Assembly constituencies for ST candidates. Based on the existing demographic matrix, the constituencies likely to be reserved are Priol, Quepem, Sanguem and either Nuvem or Curtorim.
However, BJP leaders point out that the party's electoral calculations extend beyond the four proposed reserved seats. Given its current political strength and the prominence of tribal leaders in certain constituencies, the BJP may ultimately have to field as many as six ST candidates in the 40-member Assembly election.
Apart from nominating candidates in the four reserved constituencies, the party is expected to face pressure to retain ST representation in Canacona and Sanvordem, where tribal leaders have established strong political bases and emerged victorious despite the seats being unreserved.
This has placed the ruling party in a delicate balancing act as it attempts to honour its commitment to enhancing ST representation while simultaneously managing aspirations of sitting legislators and preserving its electoral equations.
“Under the new law, four seats will be reserved for ST candidates. However, the party will also have to consider fielding ST candidates in Sanvordem and Canacona. That means a total of six tickets could go to ST candidates. This is one of the concerns before the party leadership,” a senior BJP office-bearer told The Goan.
The leader said that while the reservation is expected to strengthen tribal representation in the Assembly, it could also trigger a realignment of political equations within the BJP.
The issue gained momentum after a BJP delegation led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Sunday, seeking early issuance of the notification required to implement the reservation provisions before the 2027 elections.
According to party sources, Shah assured the delegation that the matter would be discussed with the Solicitor General of India and that necessary formalities would be expedited.
“The Home Minister has assured that the issue will be examined at the highest level. If the notification is not issued within this month, there is a possibility that the reservation process may not be completed before the next election, resulting in its implementation only in 2031,” the leader said.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that Shah has assured active and positive legal steps to expedite the process and secure the rights of the ST community.
Party leaders further clarified that the reservation exercise would be carried out on the basis of the 2011 Census data and would not require a fresh delimitation of Assembly constituencies.
