E-Paper
EC releases Assam delimitation report, changes names of 20 seats
The poll panel has stuck to the delimitation draft, which proposed major changes to 30 of the state’s 126 assembly constituencies
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday published the final order for the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in Assam, retaining the number of assembly seats at 126 and Lok Sabha at 14, while changing the name of one parliamentary and 19 assembly segments.
The poll panel has stuck to the delimitation draft, which proposed major changes to 30 of the state’s 126 assembly constituencies. It was not immediately clear what these changes were.
According to the official notification, nine seats in the legislative assembly are allocated for Scheduled Castes (up from eight earlier), while one seat is allocated for Scheduled Castes in the Lok Sabha (there were none earlier). A total of 19 assembly constituencies and two Parliament constituencies have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes (up from 16 and one respectively) .
The reservation of constituencies for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been done on the basis of the provisions laid down in Articles 330 and 332 of the Constitution of India, the order said, adding the delimitation has been done on basis of the 2001 Census.
“The census figures of 2001, as published by the Census Commissioner have thus alone been considered for this purpose. The number of seats in the Legislative Assembly in the State of Assam has been kept at 126 and the number of seats allocated in the House of People for the State of Assam is 14. Articles 170 and 82 laid down that the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State and the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States shall not be altered until the relevant figures for the first census taken after the year 2026 have been published,” the commission said in a statement.
The final proposal was prepared by the commission after an extensive consultative exercise with diverse stakeholders, which included three days of public hearings in Guwahati on the draft proposal in July 2023 and a pre-meeting before the drafting of the report in March 2023, the commission added.
Apart from the changes, one Parliamentary constituency, Darrang-Udalgiri, and some assembly constituencies, Hajo- Sualkuchi, Boko-Chaygaon, Nagaon-Batadraba, Bhowanipur-Sorbhog, Algapur-Katlichera, have been given paired names .
The delimitation of the assembly and Parliamentary seats in the Assam was last carried out in 1976 based on the 1971 Census.
The exercise could not be carried out in 2002, along with the rest of India, because of the law-and-order situation in the region.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he was yet to study the final report. “We had given several suggestions to the EC, some of which have been accepted. A formal reaction on the order will be given on Sunday,” he said. The Congress said none of its suggestions were taken into account. “This delimitation process will surely benefit the ruling BJP,” said leader of opposition in state assembly Debabrata Saikia.
The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) said the reorganisation of seats has reduced the number of seats in which Muslim voters can play a decisive role. “Due to the delimitation exercise, the number of seats in which Muslims can play a decisive role has decreased by nine,” said AIUDF MLA Md. Aminul Islam.
