J&K Delimitation Commission to submit interim report

With its term reaching a near end, the Delimitation Commission set up by the Central government for Jammu and Kashmir, is likely to submit an interim report to its associate members before putting it in the public domain.

The Commission, headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai, held a meeting with its five associate members – MPs Farooq Abdullah, Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi of National Conference (NC) and Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishor of BJP – on December 20 in New Delhi and shared the draft proposal with them.

In the draft proposal discussed during its meeting in New Delhi with five associate members, the Commission had increased the number of Assembly seats in the Jammu region from 37 to 43 while in Kashmir the tally has been increased from 46 to 47.

Kashmir-based political parties have termed the draft proposal unacceptable.

The Commission is expected to share its interim report to associate members for their claims and objections in the next few days before putting it in the public domain, sources said.

Explained | J&K Delimitation Commission's draft proposal: Why leaders in the Valley are against it

“The Commission also mulls an increase of one Lok Sabha seat in Jammu region to bring parity between the two divisions as presently Kashmir has three Lok Sabha seats while Jammu two,” they said and added that if the seat is not increased, boundaries of Parliament seats can be redrawn.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have several times in the past stated that Assembly polls in J&K will be held only after the completion of delimitation, all eyes are on the Commission’s next move.

Once the delimitation exercise is completed, the number of Assembly seats in J&K will go up from 83 to 90. Twenty-four seats of the Assembly continue to remain vacant as they fall under Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

Assembly seats in J&K were earlier delimited in 1963, 1973 and 1995. The last delimitation exercise was conducted in J&K under President’s rule in 1995 by the retired Justice K.K. Gupta Commission. The next exercise was due in 2005, but in 2002, the then state government chose to freeze delimitation until 2026. The decision was in line with the pan-India freeze on the delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies till the first census after 2026.

However, as the August 5, 2019 decision annulled J&K’s constitution, the freeze on delimitation till 2026 also became irrelevant. In fact, J&K Reorganisation Act, which came into force on October 31, 2019, mandates the delimitation of constituencies in the UT.

The elections in J&K have been due since the PDP-BJP alliance fell apart in June 2018, after which the erstwhile state was brought under Central rule.

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