With no bypoll, Ponda stays unrepresented in assembly for over a year

Panaji: The high court order cancelling the Ponda byelection on Wednesday has left the people of Ponda with no representation in the Goa legislative assembly until the general elections in 2027.

The strength of the assembly was reduced to 39 members from the existing 40 members following the death of former agriculture minister and Ponda MLA Ravi Naik on Oct 14, 2025.

Ponda residents will now have to wait for another 10 months to elect a representative.

The high court held that the EC’s March 16 notification declaring the Ponda bypoll was “arbitrary” as it contravened proviso 151A(a) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which exempts the EC from holding elections if the remainder of the term of a legislator in relation to the vacancy was less than a year.

Lawyers said that apart from the HC judgment, another issue that has emerged is what is the logic behind not allowing representation to the public for one year as per Section 151-A.

A parliamentary form of democracy is the basic feature of the Constitution. It empowers the public to make govt accountable for its policies. If the people remain unrepresented for over one and a half years after the vacancy of MLA, the law is hitting the basic feature of the Constitution as there is no one to voice their concerns in the assembly in case of injustice, a lawyer said.

Senior advocate and political observer Cleofato Coutinho said that the cancellation of the Ponda bypolls has serious implications for the country and democracy. “A constituency going unrepresented for over a year is unheard of and not acceptable. The interpretation of Sec 151A RP Act deserves to be tested before the Supreme Court by the Election Commission of India (ECI), which was shown to be lethargic and not acting with alacrity,” Coutinho said.

Coutinho said that ECI has messed up the matter and abdicated its responsibility.

“In case the ECI does not challenge the matter, it will be seen as being complicit in denying the Ponda electorate their representative. The political parties ought to have taken a stand before the high court. Now they can take it up before the Supreme Court at least to show they were serious. Some Ponda citizens could also take it up. For the fault of ECI, why should Ponda suffer?” Coutinho said.

Advocate Narendra Sawaikar said, “The aspirations and demands of the people of Ponda constituency will remain unattended. Govt can help the public with regard to administration, but people connecting with local representatives will be missing in the constituency.”