President Droupadi Murmu has approved the delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies in Assam, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday, sharing a screenshot of the Gazette of India notification in this regard.
“Today the Honorable President has approved the Delimitation Notification issued by the Election Commission of India for Assam. A significant milestone has been achieved in the history of Assam. Jai Maa Bharati, Jai Maa Asom,” Sarma announced in a post on X, the social network earlier known as Twitter.
“…I, Droupadi Murmu, President of India, hereby specify the 16th August, 2023 as the date on which the Election Commission's Order No. 1 made vide notification number O.N. 19 (E), dated 20th June 2023 and Order No. 2 made vide notification number O.N. 33 (E), dated 11th August 2023 in respect of the State of Assam, shall take effect,” the notification read.
{{/usCountry}}“…I, Droupadi Murmu, President of India, hereby specify the 16th August, 2023 as the date on which the Election Commission's Order No. 1 made vide notification number O.N. 19 (E), dated 20th June 2023 and Order No. 2 made vide notification number O.N. 33 (E), dated 11th August 2023 in respect of the State of Assam, shall take effect,” the notification read.
{{/usCountry}}The opposition Congress, on the other hand, hit out at the BJP – the saffron party governs both the northeastern state and the Centre – accusing it of ‘brute authoritarianism.’
“The speed with which Election Commission has rushed through the delimitation in Assam despite serious questions raised by the Supreme Court in the ongoing case is another example of BJP’s brute authoritarianism. The BJP also wants to exclude CJI from selecting ECs in the new bill,” Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi, the son of late former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, wrote on X.
What is the Assam delimitation exercise?
The state has 14 Lok Sabha and 126 assembly seats. The Election Commission of India (ECI), in a final order published last month, retained these numbers, even as it renamed one parliamentary and 19 assembly segments.
In addition to this, the poll panel stuck to the delimitation draft, which proposed major changes to 30 of the 126 assembly constituencies. It was, however, not immediately clear what these changes were.
Why is there opposition to delimitation?
The opposition, including the Congress, has alleged that the reorganisation will result in reduction in the number of seats where Muslims can play a decisive role.
The number of such segments has come down come by nine, according to Md. Aminul Islam, a legislator from the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF).