The five states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Jharkhand have been kept out of the delimitation process for the time being because of various issues relating to them, including a spate of court cases.

Following Thursday’s decision to this effect at a Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the delimitation would come into effect from a date that the President specifies in the notification while signing it.

Government sources said the notification was likely to be issued only after the process of polling gets completed in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura so that any possibility of litigation demanding that the elections in these states should be held under new delimitation and thus offsetting the ongoing poll process there.

Polling

Polling in Tripura would be held on February 23, Meghalaya (March 3) and Nagaland (March 5).  The polling process in the first two states would have to get over by March 10 and in the third by March 11.
Earlier on January 10, the Cabinet had issued an ordinance separating the five states from the delimitation process.

President Pratibha Patil is yet to sign the ordinance, but is expected to do so before she signs the notification for the 24 states.

As soon as the delimitation order issued by the Delimitation Commission under the Delimitation Act, 2002 gets notified and takes effect as per provisions of Article 82 and the second proviso to clause (3) of Article 170 of Constitution, it would supersede the Delimitation Order of 1976.

The Representation of the People Act, 1950, would also have to undergo necessary amendments following this decision.

“The Cabinet decision will bring the new delimitation orders issued by the Delimitation Commission into force and pave the way for election to the House of the People and the Legi saltive Assembly of each state on the basis of new territorial constituencies,” Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters after the Union Cabinet meeting in New Delhi on Thursday.