PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said the long-pending process of providing political reservation to Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Goa Legislative Assembly is nearing completion, with a notification reserving four constituencies likely to be issued in December.
Addressing a post-cabinet press conference, Sawant said Quepem, Sanguem, Priol and Nuvem are likely to be notified as reserved constituencies for ST candidates by the first or second week of December 2026, paving the way for implementation ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
The announcement comes amid growing pressure from the United Tribals Associations Alliance (UTAA), the umbrella organisation of tribal groups, which has been protesting delays and uncertainty surrounding the reservation process.
Sawant said the State government has already submitted its report identifying the four constituencies to the Election Commission of India (ECI) after being asked to furnish the details.
He outlined the next steps in the process. According to the established procedure, the ECI will direct the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to hold a public hearing after issuing a one-month notice. The hearing is tentatively expected to take place by November 30.
Following the hearing, the ECI is expected to issue the final notification reserving the four Assembly segments.
Referring to warnings from tribal leaders about intensifying protests and strikes in the coming days, Sawant urged restraint.
“There is no need to repeatedly talk about protests and strikes,” he said.
The Chief Minister stressed that the Election Commission is an independent constitutional body and that the State government cannot interfere in its functioning.
“The Election Commission is an independent, autonomous body. We cannot interfere in its working,” he said, while reiterating the government’s commitment to securing political reservation for the ST community.
Tribal organisations have been pressing for reservation which they argue was a Constitutional right denied to the community.
The proposed reservation of four Assembly constituencies, if notified as claimed by Sawant in December, will therefore be a significant milestone for the tribals and a resolution to a two-decade long conundrum. In more recent years tribals galvanised themselves under 'The Mission Political Reservation' movement as a grassroots campaign to demand implementation of the law providing political reservation in the State Assembly. Tribal organisations, including UTAA and other ST groups, organised dharnas, awareness drives, village meetings and rallies across Goa, arguing that the community had already missed several five-year election cycles despite obtaining Scheduled Tribe status.
A major agitation was launched in 2026, including a sit-in protest in Panaji and a statewide mobilisation programme which brought the ruling BJP under pressure from their own tribal leaders and the Central government eventually caved in passing the law to ensure the quota in Parliament.
However, fearing that the technical nitty-gritties including identifying the four constituencies which will be reserved and notifying them may get delayed beyond the 2027 election, UTTA again raised the threat of an agitation which apparently prompted Sawant to make the assurance on Wednesday.
