Assam delimitation final, more seats under quota; BJP hailed it for ‘protecting indigenous groups’

3 more Assembly seats for STs, 1 more for SCs, some changes to names of constituencies; Opp had objected to use of 2001 Census data, AIUDF alleged bid to 'reduce impact of Muslim vote'

The EC had published a draft delimitation order in June and visited Assam for public consultations with stakeholders in July. (File)

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The Election Commission Friday published the final delimitation order for Assam Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies, which is contested by the Opposition parties as it is based on the 2001 Census, making some changes from the earlier draft published in June.

As the draft report said, the number of constituencies reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) is up from 16 to 19 and Scheduled Castes from 8 to 9. Two Lok Sabha seats now stand reserved for STs and one for SCs.

What has changed from the draft is the nomenclature of 19 Assembly seats and 1 Lok Sabha seat, based on the representations received by the EC.

Explained | Assam delimitation draft: What changes it proposes, why it has led to protests

Of the extra seats, while the number of constituencies in the tribal autonomous districts of West Karbi Anglong has gone up from 1 to 2, those in the Bodoland Territorial Region have increased from 16 to 19.

The total number of constituencies, for Assembly and Lok Sabha, remain unchanged at 126 and 14, respectively, as these cannot be altered till the figures of the first Census taken after 2026 are published.

The EC had published a draft delimitation order in June and visited Assam for public consultations with stakeholders in July. “A total of 1,222 representations were received… Around 45%… have been addressed in the final proposal. In around 5% of the representations, the demands raised were found beyond the constitutional and statutory provisions and hence could not be acceded to. The requests made in all the remaining suggestions/objections were not found feasible to accommodate,” an EC statement said.

The EC added: “The Commission, during the public hearings on the draft delimitation proposal, received many conflicting representations from members of the public, political parties, and organisations for change of nomenclature of some Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies, highlighting the historical, cultural, political, and ethnic significance of the region.”

Also in Political Pulse | Row in Assam over delimitation: Oppn flags NRC, Census, ‘devaluing’ of minority vote; BJP hails proposal

The delimitation process started in 2022, after the government wrote to the EC to begin the proceedings. The last time a delimitation of constituencies was carried out in Assam was in 1976. While several states saw a fresh delimitation exercise in the 2000s, it had been deferred in Assam because political parties opposed it citing the then updation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state. With the NRC process yet to be concluded, the state’s Opposition parties continue to be opposed to delimitation.

The fact that the current delimitation process is being carried out on the basis of 22-year-old data, as per the 2001 Census, has also been a bone of contention.

The BJP, however, has hailed the EC’s move, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma saying it protects the interests of “indigenous communities” and that “a better delimitation than this is not possible till the number of seats are increased”.

Among the instances Sarma had cited in June to support this was the carving out of two new unreserved constituencies of Ranganadi and Sisiborgaon in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur districts respectively which, he said, will enable the Ahom and Chutia communities in those regions “to get representatives for the first time”.