PANAJI
The Goa State Election Commission has announced the schedule for the Zilla Panchayat elections, with polling set for December 20 and counting on December 22. Nominations will be filed between December 1 and 9, scrutiny on December 10, and withdrawals on December 11.
In Bardez taluka, nine ZP constituencies — Siolim, Anjuna, Colvale, Sirsaim, Aldona, Calangute, Socorro, Reis Magos and Penha-de-Franca — will witness contests that promise to be as layered as the taluka’s political history. The overlaps between ZP seats and Assembly constituencies ensure that local satraps and recent defections will weigh heavily on the outcome.
Constituency overlaps
The Siolim ZP seat comprises Siolim-Sodiem, Siolim Marna and Oxel, all part of the Siolim Assembly constituency, along with Camurlim, which falls in Thivim. The Anjuna ZP seat, by contrast, is wholly within Siolim Assembly, covering Anjuna-Caisua, Verla-Canca and Assagao.
The Colvale ZP seat encompasses Colvale, Assonora, Revora, Pirna and Nadora, all within Thivim Assembly. Thivim also hosts the Sirsaim ZP seat, which includes Sirsaim and Tivim villages, alongside Moira and Nachinola from neighbouring Aldona Assembly. The Aldona ZP seat itself covers Aldona, Pomburpa-Olaulim, Bastora and Ucassaim-Paliem-Punola.
Further to the coast, the Calangute ZP seat — comprising Calangute, Candolim and Arpora-Nagoa — is wholly within the Calangute Assembly constituency, long regarded as the bastion of Michael Lobo.
The Socorro ZP seat straddles Porvorim and Saligao, covering Socorro, Saligao, Parra and Guirim. Both Porvorim and Saligao also have wholly subsumed ZP seats: Reis Magos (Reis Magos, Pilerne-Marra, Nerul, Sangolda) lies entirely in Saligao, while Penha-de-Franca (Penha-de-Franca and Salvador-do-Mundo) is wholly within Porvorim, where Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte holds sway.
These overlaps make Bardez the epicentre of Goa’s political churn, with Assembly-level leaders exerting influence deep into grassroots contests.
Political dynamics
At the 2022 Assembly elections, the Opposition Congress had tipped the scales in Bardez, winning four of the six seats — Siolim, Calangute, Saligao and Aldona — while the BJP secured Porvorim and Thivim.
However, much of that Congress success was attributed to Michael Lobo, who, on the eve of those polls, then a BJP cabinet minister, had defected. His wife Delilah won Siolim, and his protégé Kedar Naik captured Saligao, giving Congress a strong foothold. But all three have since returned to the BJP, dramatically altering the balance of power towards the saffron party. The ZP elections in Bardez will test whether these defections have consolidated the BJP’s grip or left lingering resentment among voters.
The BJP enters the fray with incumbency and organisational strength, banking on its ministers — Rohan Khaunte in Porvorim and Nilkanth Halarnkar in Thivim — and the return of the Lobo camp. It could nonetheless face internal turmoil if its leaders decide to play the one-upmanship game and prove a point to the party leadership ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Dayanand Mandrekar vs the Lobos in Siolim, Dilip Parulekar vs Kedar Naik in Saligao, and the personality clash between Khaunte and Lobo are some of the internecine rivalries within the BJP to watch for in terms of how they play out, if at all, in these ZP elections in Bardez.
Congress, meanwhile, faces the uphill task of regaining credibility after losing its Bardez heavyweights. Aldona, under Carlos Alvares Ferreira, remains its only reliable bastion.
Regional players add further complexity. The Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP), riding on its outsider-centric narrative, may attempt to expand into Bardez, where its ‘supremo’ Manoj Parab had made a mark by garnering 5,000-plus votes, although he ended third in the race at Thivim in the 2022 Assembly election.
Parab and his RGP have also sought to make a mark recently by picking up cudgels against Lobo’s alleged real estate transgressions in Anjuna. How much this translates into electoral dividends will have to be seen in this ZP poll.
AAP, with its effective governance and grassroots health services model, may seek to make inroads and expand its footprint in Bardez, where its presence has remained limited in the past. It has already named its candidates in Anjuna and Calangute.
Significance
The Bardez ZP elections are not merely about grassroots representation. They are a referendum on defections, local satraps and the ability of parties to translate Assembly clout into village-level victories. With nine seats at stake, the contests will serve as a barometer of coastal politics and a preview of how Bardez may tilt in future State-level battles.
For the BJP, success would confirm that defections have cemented its dominance. For Congress, survival in Aldona or Saligao would signal resilience despite setbacks. For emerging outfits like AAP and RGP, even modest gains would mark an important foothold in Goa’s politically significant northern taluka.
All in all, Bardez’s ZP polls encapsulate the evolving political landscape of Goa — where defections, grassroots mobilisation and Assembly overlaps converge to shape the future of the State’s politics.
====
BARDEZ BREAKDOWN
Siolim ZP: Straddles Siolim and Thivim, with three panchayats from Siolim and Camurlim from Thivim.
Anjuna ZP: Aligns wholly with Siolim Assembly, covering Anjuna-Caisua, Verla-Canca and Assagao.
Colvale ZP: Sits wholly inside Thivim Assembly, with five panchayats — Colvale, Assonora, Revora, Pirna and Nadora.
Sirsaim ZP: Overlaps Thivim and Aldona, with Sirsaim and Tivim in Thivim, and Moira and Nachinola in Aldona.
Aldona ZP: Is entirely within Aldona Assembly, covering Aldona, Pomburpa-Olaulim, Bastora and Ucassaim-Paliem-Punola.
Calangute ZP: Aligns perfectly with Calangute Assembly, comprising Calangute, Candolim and Arpora-Nagoa.
Socorro ZP: Straddles Porvorim and Saligao, with Socorro lying in Porvorim and Saligao, and Guirim in Saligao. A fifth village, Parra, lies in the Calangute constituency.
Reis Magos ZP: Sits wholly inside Saligao Assembly, covering Reis Magos, Pilerne-Marra, Nerul and Sangolda.
Penha-de-Franca ZP: Is wholly within Porvorim Assembly, comprising Penha-de-Franca and Salvador-do-Mundo.
