Assam delimitation: Diverse views placed before ECI during 3-day public hearings

Diverse representations, some questioning the timing of the delimitation exercise in Assam and seeking its deferment while some welcoming the draft proposal, were placed before the Election Commission of India (ECI) during public hearings which concluded here on Friday.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar, who headed the full bench of the ECI which conducted the hearings over the last three days on the draft delimitation proposal for Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies of Assam, appreciated the conducive manner in which the sittings took place, with conflicting claims on various issues placed without any confrontations or hostility.

"During the public meetings held in last three days, the Commission patiently heard all the representations from different sections of the society and organisations and assured due consideration of all the representations within the constitutional and statutory provisions," the ECI said in a statement.

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"The CEC appreciated the ability of different groups to present their conflicting claims on various issues, with detailed reasons for their point of view, in a respectful and friendly manner, without creating confrontations or hostility," it said.

Kumar added that such an attitude is conducive to constructive dialogue and open-mindedness, allowing a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives.

The Commission heard over 1,200 representations from 31 districts and held meetings with more than 20 political parties. In all, more than 6,000 people participated in the public hearings.

Representatives from national parties -- Aam Aadmi Party, Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Bhartiya Janata Party and state parties All India United Democratic Front, Asom Gana Parishad, United Peoples Party Liberal and Bodoland People's Front shared their feedback and suggestions with the CEC.

United Opposition Forum Assam comprising Congress, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI(M), Raijor Dal, CPI, Jatiya Dal Assam, NCP, RJD, Janata Dal (U), TMC, CPI(ML) and others, and several registered unrecognised political parties also participated in the hearings.

The release said that several organisations "welcomed the draft proposal based on Census 2001 and were largely satisfied with the draft delimitation proposal".

The increase in Assembly seats reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) from 8 to 9 and Scheduled Tribe (ST) Assembly seats from 16 to 19 was widely welcomed by different organisations, it said.

The people and organisations from four districts under the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) and three autonomous hill council districts welcomed the proposal.

However, there was a demand for further increase of Assembly seats in Dima Hasao, West Karbi Anglong and Karbi Anglong districts, and people from BTR also demanded the creation of one more ST Parliamentary seat for Udalguri and Baksa districts. If not, they demanded that at least the name of Darang Lok Sabha seat be changed to Udalguri.

A few representations from Barak Valley welcomed de-reserving the Parliamentary constituency of Karimganj, though several representations demanded that Assembly seats in the valley should be restored from 13 to 15.

However, a few representations questioned the timing of the exercise, while others sought its deferment to permit a better understanding of the methodology being adopted.

A few organisations from the Lower Assam, central Assam and Barak Valley districts also requested for maintaining the compactness, contiguity of the constituencies and keeping intact the administrative units as far as possible.

Many organisations requested for a change of nomenclature of some Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies, highlighting the historical, cultural, political, and ethnic significance of the region.

Many people from Sibsagar district submitted representations for restoration of Amguri Assembly constituency in their district citing the historical and political significance of the place.

United Opposition Forum Assam apprised the Commission that it had filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the draft delimitation proposal and the matter is listed for hearing on July 25.

Many representations were purely aspirational and raised issues beyond the remit of the exercise, the release said.

Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, had reached here on Wednesday to hold the public hearings.

On the first day, suggestions for Kamrup Metropolitan, West Karbi Anglong, Chirang, Baksa, Dima Hasao, Kamrup, Udalguri, Karbi Anglong and Kokrajhar districts were accepted.

Feedback on the draft for Goalpara, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Karimganj, Darrang, Hailakandi, Cachar, South Salmara, Nagaon, Morigaon and Dhubri were heard on Thursday.

On the last day, the ECI heard prayers from Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Charaideo, Golaghat and Majuli districts.

The last delimitation exercise in Assam took place in 1976 on the basis of the 1971 Census.

Many political parties have knocked the doors of the Supreme Court against the entire delimitation exercise.

The ECI had on June 20 notified the draft delimitation document by retaining the number of Assembly seats in Assam at 126 and the Lok Sabha constituencies at 14. The state has seven Rajya Sabha seats.

As per the draft, the Assembly seats reserved for Scheduled Castes have been increased to nine from eight and for Scheduled Tribes to 19 from 16. For the Parliamentary constituencies, two have been proposed under the ST category and one for the SC community.

The poll panel has also planned to alter the geographical boundaries of most of the constituencies, both Assembly and Lok Sabha, while eliminating some seats and creating a few new ones.

An ECI team had earlier visited Assam on March 26-28 and held interactions with political parties, public representatives, civil society members, social organisations, members of the public and officers regarding the delimitation exercise.

In total, representations from 11 political parties and 71 other organisations were received and considered during that visit of the ECI.

The Commission had prepared detailed guidelines and methodology for the draft delimitation proposal keeping in view the constitutional and legal provisions, physical features, density of population, existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and public convenience and suggestions received in the representations after the consultative exercise.