EC starts delimitation of Assam constituencies; Oppn protests

Under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 1972, the last delimitation of constituencies in Assam was done on the basis of 1971 census figures by the then Delimitation Commission in 1976, EC said.

Guwahati/New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (EC) on Tuesday said it has initiated the delimitation process for all 126 assembly and 14 parliamentary constituencies in Assam, even as opposition parties maintained the poll body should have waited till the final notification of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for the state.

While the delimitation process would see realignment of constituencies, the number of seats will remain unchanged, EC said, adding it will use the 2001 Census figures for the readjustment of seats. (AP)

While the delimitation process would see realignment of constituencies, the number of seats will remain unchanged, EC said, adding it will use the 2001 Census figures for the readjustment of seats.

“The commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and election commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel has directed the chief electoral officer of Assam to take up the matter with the state government to issue a complete ban on the creation of new administrative units with effect from January 1, 2023 till the completion of delimitation exercise in the state,” the EC said in a release.

Delimitation is the process of fixing boundaries of the territorial constituencies in a country or a state with a legislative body.

“As mandated under Article 170 of the Constitution, census figures (2001) shall be used for the purpose of readjustment of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies in the state,” the release said. “Reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be provided as per Articles 330 and 332 of the Constitution of India.”

Under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 1972, the last delimitation of constituencies in Assam was done on the basis of 1971 census figures by the then Delimitation Commission in 1976, EC said.

EC said the delimitation exercise has been initiated following a request by the Union law ministry in a letter on November 15. “During the delimitation exercise, the commission will keep in mind the physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facility of communication, public convenience, and as far as practicable, the constituencies will be kept as geographically compact areas,” it stated.

The move comes after the Assam government assured the Centre that there would be no law-and-order problems following the commencement of the delimitation exercise.

“The state government had earlier submitted that there might be law-and-order problems if the assembly and parliamentary constituencies delimitation exercise was undertaken, and so this was suspended. Now, we have submitted that there will not be any breakdown of law and order if the delimitation exercise is carried out,” Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said on December 15.

In the run-up to the 2021 Assam assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had assured the initiation of a delimitation exercise for protecting the “political interests of the people”. The delimitation exercise in Assam, which was highlighted as an issue with a sensitive nature by the Supreme Court, had been kept on hold since 2008.

The opposition Congress reminded that the BJP had also opposed the delimitation exercise till the updated NRC was notified.

“In 2007-08, Congress as well as BJP and Asom Gana Parishad had opposed fresh delimitation in the state till the NRC exercise was not over. But since the BJP is welcoming it now, we assume it thinks all work on updating the NRC is over,” said Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah.

“We have no issues with the fresh delimitation exercise if it’s done as per modalities and procedure. But if we see it’s being done to give political gains to the BJP, we will oppose it in courts and through democratic protests,” he added.

The Raijor Dal, which has only one legislator in the 126-member assembly, said since the fresh delimitation exercise will not result in any increase in seats, it should have been kept in abeyance till the NRC process was over.

“The delimitation exercise was pending as the NRC process hadn’t got over. Even BJP is not happy with the final NRC list submitted in 2019,” said party vice-president Rassel Hussain. “But the speed with which the party now wants delimitation in Assam, we assume it wants to do it for its own political gains and retain power in 2024 general elections.”

The All Assam Students Union (AASU), which has been seeking fresh delimitation to protect the political interests of the indigenous people of Assam, welcomed the process.

“We would keep a close watch on the delimitation exercise and ensure that the process protects the political rights of indigenous Assamese for all times to come,” AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya told a local TV channel.

Updating of the 1951 NRC for Assam was done under directions of Supreme Court in order to detect illegal citizens who had entered the state after March 25, 1971. The final NRC list published in August 2019 left out 1.9 million of the 33 million applicants on suspicion of their claims as Indian citizens. The final NRC has been rejected as incorrect by the state’s BJP-led government, stating it had many anomalies and left out eligible people and included illegal immigrants. The Assam government has since approached the Supreme Court seeking a review of the entire exercise.

The final NRC list is yet to be notified by the Registrar General of India, leading to a long wait by those left out of the list to file appeals before foreigners’ tribunals seeking inclusion as citizens.