Delimitation proposal only for Assam stirs controversy

The Election Commission's June 20 draft proposal for a delimitation exercise in Assam has left the opposition Congress and AIUDF agitated though the EC says the number of the Parliament and Assembly constituencies will remain unchanged. Sumir Karmakar takes through the controversial process, reasons for the Opposition's anger and why the ruling BJP is in its favour.

What is a delimitation?

Delimitation is an exercise under which the geographical boundaries of the parliament and assembly constituencies are redrawn, as per the provisions in Section 8-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 to reflect the changes in the population. The Section 8A deals with delimitation exercises in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland.

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What the EC proposes to do in Assam?

According to the EC, the delimitation is to be carried out based on the Census of 2001, as provided in Article 170 and 82 of the Constitution. The two sections deal with readjustment of seats, after completion of each Census to ensure that each seat has an almost equal number of voters. It seeks to redraw the boundaries of all the 14 Lok Sabha and 126 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in Assam keeping their numbers intact. The Commission has proposed to increase the number of assembly constituencies reserved for the Scheduled Tribes to 19 from the current level of 16 and the number of Scheduled Castes seats from eight to nine. The EC proposes to significantly alter boundaries of at least 30 assembly constituencies and reserve a Lok Sabha seat for the SCs (Silchar).

Why was such an exercise proposed only for Assam?

The last delimitation for the entire country was carried out in 2002 but the same could not be done in the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir due to law and order issues. The unfinished task has now been taken up. Many in Assam wanted the delimitation after the NRC exercise but the EC said the NRC and delimitations could be simultaneously carried out as both were separate exercises. While the last delimitation in Assam was conducted in 1976, the census results after 1976 found a huge population growth in Muslim-majority districts compared to those with "indigenous populations."

Since The next delimitation exercise for the entire country will be rolled out after 2026, the Centre re-constituted the Delimitation Commission for the four Northeastern states and Jammu and Kashmir in March 2020. The EC initiated the process for Assam after being asked by the Centre following "significant improvement" in law and order situation. The delimitations in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland would be notified after Assam's exercise.

Why are the Opposition parties angry?

The two main Opposition parties, Congress and Barduddin Ajmal-led AIUDF claim that the exercise is being conducted ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to fulfil BJP's political objective. Ajmal argues that the EC intends to reduce the share of Muslim voters in many constituencies and thereby make those constituencies Hindu-majority to help BJP. Congress has been saying that it was being done under the dictation of the BJP. When asked about the allegations of the Opposition parties, Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar told reporters in Guwahati on March 28 that EC didn’t "take dictation" from anybody. Both Congress and AIUDF (with 15 MLA and one MP) demand that delimitation should be carried out after 2026 with the rest of the country.

What’s the BJP’s point of view?

The saffron party claims that by redrawing the boundaries, the delimitation would protect political interests of the state's indigenous communities against the "threat posed by the immigrants." (Bengali-speaking Muslims). BJP has always projected itself as a champion of the indigenous communities while branding Ajmal and Congress as "protectors of the Bangladeshis." Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the delimitation would do what the Assam Accord of 1985 and the National Register of Citizens failed to do. Both Assam Accord and the NRC promised to detect the "foreigners, but BJP was unhappy with the outcomes of both.