PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will lead a BJP delegation to New Delhi on Sunday to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and press for the issuance of a notification paving the way for political reservation for Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the 2027 Goa Assembly elections.
The delegation will comprise Union Minister for State Shripad Naik, Goa Assembly Speaker Ganesh Gaonkar, Minister Ramesh Tawadkar and Rajya Sabha MP Sadanand Tanavade, BJP chief Damodar Naik and other office bearers. The move follows a resolution passed by the BJP Goa Core Committee urging the Centre to expedite the notification process.
The President of India has already granted assent to the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2025 which was passed by the Parliament.
Speaking to The Goan, Tawadkar said all legislative formalities have been completed and only the notification remains pending.
“The Bill has already received the assent of the President and has become law. What is pending now is the notification and the process that follows. We will request the Union Home Minister to expedite the same so that reservation is implemented for the 2027 Assembly elections,” Tawadkar said.
He expressed confidence that political reservation for STs would be in place before the next Assembly polls.
Based on the ST population in the State, four Assembly constituencies are expected to be reserved. While there has been speculation that Canacona could be among the constituencies earmarked for reservation, Tawadkar ruled out the possibility.
“Canacona has around 25 per cent ST population, which does not meet the criteria for reservation. Therefore, it is unlikely to be considered,” he said.
Speaker Ganesh Gaonkar described the reservation as a long-pending demand of Goa’s tribal community. “Everything has been done. It is now a matter of issuing the notification and defining the procedure for implementation. The tribal community has waited for this for many years,” Gaonkar said.
BJP State president Damu Naik said the delegation would seek Shah’s intervention for an early notification and necessary directions to the authorities concerned.
Tribal leader Prakash Velip said the reservation of four seats would amount to nearly 10 per cent representation in the 40-member Assembly, broadly corresponding to the ST population in the State. “Which constituencies will eventually be reserved is a decision that will be taken by the Election Commission of India,” Velip said.
Meanwhile, the Goa Chief Electoral Office is awaiting a notification from the Centre and directions from the Election Commission of India on the procedure to be adopted.
“We are waiting for the Central notification and instructions from the ECI. If reservation is to be implemented based on the 2011 Census, the constituency-wise data is readily available. However, we need clarity on the criteria to be adopted and whether a delimitation exercise will be required,” CEO Sanjay Goel said.
He added that if delimitation becomes necessary, the process could take considerable time. “If there is no delimitation and reservation is based on the existing constituency boundaries, we already have the ST population data constituency-wise,” he said.
