Team Goemkarponn
MARGAO: Tribal Welfare Minister Ramesh Tawadkar has expressed optimism that members of Goa’s Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities will receive political reservation in time for the 2027 Goa Assembly elections.
Responding to questions on the status of the long-pending demand, Tawadkar said his department has been consistently following up with both the state and central governments to ensure the implementation of the law providing political reservation for STs.
He said the state government has submitted the required proposals to the concerned ministries and departments, including the Union Law Ministry. Tawadkar added that a delegation had also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, urging the Centre to issue the necessary notification to operationalise the legislation.
The minister maintained that he has continued to actively pursue the matter in his capacity as Tribal Welfare Minister and has not relaxed efforts to secure political representation for the ST community.
Expressing confidence over the outcome, Tawadkar said he believes the reservation will be in place before the 2027 Assembly elections, adding that all stakeholders are making every possible effort to ensure its implementation.
On the issue of constituency allocation, Tawadkar clarified that the identification of the four Assembly seats to be reserved for Scheduled Tribes will be determined by the Election Commission of India based on population census data. He said neither the state government nor his department has any role in deciding which constituencies will be reserved, as the process falls entirely within the jurisdiction of the Election Commission.
