GS Paper 2
Syllabus: Parliament and State Legislatures and Issues Arising out of their functioning
Source: IE
Context: The Election Commission of India (EC) released a draft delimitation document for Assam.
What is delimitation?
- It is the act of redrawing the boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to reflect changes in population over time, based on the most current Census data.
- The process may alter the number of seats in a state so that the population of all seats is as uniform as possible across the state.
Legal/constitutional provisions:
- Article 82: Following each census, the allocation of Lok Sabha seats to the states, as well as the division of each state into territorial constituencies, shall be readjusted by such authority as Parliament may by law determine.
- Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950: It allows for delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur or Nagaland.
- Article 170 (Composition of the Legislative Assemblies): Census figures (2001) shall be used for the purpose of readjustment of constituencies in the State.
- Reservation of seats for the SCs/STs will be provided as per Articles 330 (Lok Sabha) and 332 (State Assemblies) of the Constitution.
Delimitation Commission:
- Article 82 of the Indian Constitution provides for the establishment of such a commission through a Parliamentary act.
- The orders of such a commission (have the force of law and cannot be challenged in court) will take into effect on a date to be determined by India’s President
Need of delimitation in Assam:
- Assam currently has 14 Lok Sabha, 126 Assembly constituencies.
- The last delimitation of constituencies in Assam was done in 1976 on the basis of the 1971 Census.
- While the delimitation process was done in the rest of the country in 2008, it was deferred in Assam (and some other NE states) citing security concerns of the time.
- In 1971, Assam’s population was 1.46 crore, which increased to 2.66 crore (2001) and to 3.12 crore (2011).
Proposals of EC:
- Following a 2020 notification from the Law Ministry, the EC in 2022 announced that it would initiate the exercise on the basis of census figures from 2001.
- While the number of seats is being retained, the EC has proposed not just changes in geographical boundaries, but also an increase in the number of reserved constituencies for STs and SCs.
- Districts with autonomous councils (administered under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution) get more seats.
- Change in nomenclature: Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency now named ‘Kaziranga’
Why have these proposals run into controversy?
- The state’s Bengali-origin Muslim community (often labelled as outsiders and non-indigenous to the state) alleged that the draft is partisan, depriving them politically.
- Constituencies have been shaped to mix minority areas with majority [Hindu] populations.
- Several seats – with a significant Muslim population – have been done away with.
- For example, as per the draft proposal, constituencies of the Barpeta district have now been reduced from 8 to 6 (one of them reserved for SC).
- Constituencies of several sitting legislators and parliamentarians (across parties) may be impacted by virtue of changes.
- For example, many Muslim-majority areas from the new Kaziranga constituency have been shifted to neighbouring Nagaon, which will affect the electoral fortunes of sitting MP.
Supporters of the proposals: Groups from the Bodo Territorial Council and Karbi Anglong district have hailed the proposal because it secures at least 102 constituencies for the “indigenous” people.
Insta Links:
What is the CAG audit report on Assam’s NRC?
Mains Links:
What is delimitation? Examine its objectives and how delimitation affects the representation of the people act. (250 words)
