Compared to the three-tier Panchayati Raj system in Kerala and Karnataka, Goa’s two-tier system has become ineffective because the two ZPs have little role and function
Goa has entered another 16-month election cycle, which will conclude in May 2027, following the elections for the village panchayats. Compared to the three-tier Panchayati Raj system in Kerala and Karnataka, Goa’s two-tier system has become ineffective because the two Zilla Panchayats have become ornamental in structure and function.
All political parties, except the RGP, are unanimous that, considering the small geographical area and population, the devolution of powers as in Kerala and Karnataka would dilute the power and influence of the cabinet government and elected MLAs. The list of candidates in the 2025 ZP elections reveals that 80 percent of the candidates are unknown to voters outside their own panchayat wards or village panchayats. The 868,637 voters expected to line up at 1,284 polling stations on December 20 would likely wonder why they were voting for candidates with whom they were unfamiliar.
Most voters loyal to a particular political party would not bother to consider their party’s candidate and would instead vote for the party. This provides an opportunity for independent candidates to split votes heavily because of confusion and uncertainty among undecided voters who are unfamiliar with the functioning of the Zilla Panchayats. In fact, there is a huge question mark as to whether all 320 candidates, except those contesting again, have read Sections 116 to 199 of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act and the rules, 1995.
I asked this question to some senior leaders of major political parties, but I did not receive any positive responses. This means that for all political parties, including the ruling BJP, the ZP elections serve as a ground for testing their strength and some hypotheses. Voters should first ask this basic question of every candidate: Are you familiar with sections 116 to 199, and if not, then why should I trust you? If the candidate proves their knowledge, then they are serious about the elections. I studied the polling pattern and analysed the results of the 2015 and 2020 ZP elections.
More than 66 percent voted in 2015 compared to 57 percent in 2020. This decline was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is more enthusiasm this time, and the BJP, which claims a primary membership of 4.25 lakhs and active committees in 1700 booths, is fully geared to mobilese its loyal voter members. People are kept in the dark about the number of primary members of MGP, INC, GFP, AAP, RGP, and NCP and their active booth committees. Therefore, there is a huge question mark about their voter mobilisation capacity on December 20. Here, the well-oiled, well-trained, and highly motivated organisational machinery of the BJP has an advantage, as demonstrated by the higher voter turnout in all its strongholds.
Therefore, if the polling percentage exceeds 70 this time, a major contribution would be due to the efforts of this machinery. In 2015, the polling rate was less than 60 percent in four constituencies and more than 60 percent in the remaining constituencies. In 2020, the polling was below 60 percent in 27 constituencies and above 60 percent in the remaining 23. Micro-level planning drives the voting percentages. There is limited awareness among voters that they need to use a paper ballot this time rather than an EVM.
The average number of voters assigned to each polling station is 677, and the total official polling time would be 540 minutes (8 am to 5 pm). First-time voters and senior citizens not accustomed to paper ballots may require more time to read the names of candidates and their symbols on the ballot paper in the dim light. This requires at least one minute. Therefore, even at a presumptive rate of 2 minutes per ballot and an average voter turnout of 500 per polling station, a minimum of 1,000 minutes is required to cast votes if a single cubicle and ballot box are used. This problem can be solved by providing two or more cubicles and ballot boxes per polling station.
Once again, women voters are expected to outnumber men on December 20, as there is greater enthusiasm among women in rural Goa to participate in such exercises than among men. A higher turnout than in 2015 would be due to the individual efforts of the rival candidates. For all anti-BJP parties, this election is a testing ground. The resource-rich AAP is testing the hypothesis of expanding its rural base and making its symbol familiar to as many voters in Goa as possible by contesting separately. The AAP campaigning model is highly professional and has improved with experience in Delhi, Punjab, and Gujarat. Their experiment would fail if they received fewer than 50000 votes.
A new entrant to the ZP election, the RGP, which is not interested in voters who are migrants, aims to test the hypothesis that it can garner support only from POGO voters and others unhappy with the present government and national parties, and check whether the surprising support it received in 2022 on POGO Warcry is rising or diminishing. If they receive fewer than 40,000 votes, it will be a massive setback.
The INC-GFP alliance would be interested in the number of seats they win if vote transfers take place to support each other. The independent candidates would likely split the votes heavily, and some would be lucky enough to win. However, in 2020, 38 candidates won with more than 50 percent of the votes. Voters have no choice but to participate in the ritual of electing 50 members of Goa’s local Zilla panchayats, and the minimum they can do on December 20 is to choose reasonably sincere, accessible, down-to-earth, honest candidates who may not get the powers if elected but at least fight for the people and save whatever remains of Goa and the Goan identity for the next five crucial and critical years impacting a million people in 191 village panchayats.
(Dr Nandkumar M Kamat, who has a doctorate in microbiology, is a scientist and science writer)
