PANAJI
Even as the ‘Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Act, 2025’ has come into force, bringing Goa a step closer to reserving four Assembly seats for Scheduled Tribes, tribal leaders on Friday said the battle is not over yet, choosing to wait for the Election Commission’s final notification reserving four Assembly constituencies before celebrating.
A delegation of tribal leaders, including Tribal Welfare Minister Ramesh Tawadkar, MLA Govind Gaude, former MLA Prakash Velip and tribal leader Govind Shirodkar, met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at his official residence to understand the roadmap for implementing the legislation.
Following the meeting, the leaders said the Chief Minister assured them that the entire process of identifying and notifying the four reserved Assembly constituencies would be completed within the next two to two-and-a-half months, well before the Goa Assembly elections expected in February 2027.
Tribal Welfare Minister Ramesh Tawadkar said the discussions with the Chief Minister had clarified the implementation timeline.
“We now understand that the process is likely to be completed within two to two-and-a-half months, possibly by the end of November. The Assembly elections are expected only in February 2027, so there is sufficient time,” Tawadkar said.
He added that the reservation exercise would be based on the Scheduled Tribes population figures from the 2011 Census.
Calling the enactment of the law a historic milestone, MLA Govind Gaude said the struggle for political reservation for Scheduled Tribes had taken nearly 23 years.
“This is the biggest victory of the social justice movement in Goa. It has taken almost 23 years and involved immense sacrifice, including the loss of two tribal leaders. It has not been an easy journey. We are yet to get the fruit; it is still in the process,” Gaude said.
He expressed confidence that the reservation would be implemented before the next Assembly elections, saying, “If there is political will, the entire process can be completed within two months.”
Echoing similar sentiments, tribal leader Govind Shirodkar said the movement would celebrate only after the Election Commission completes all statutory formalities and officially reserves the four Assembly constituencies.
“We cannot call it a victory at this point. The final step lies with the Election Commission. Only after the four constituencies are notified as reserved will we consider the movement successful,” Shirodkar said.
He urged the government to complete all formalities before the Assembly elections.
Following the notification on Thursday, Sawant had outlined a four-stage implementation process for the ST political reservation.
