Last week, the Election Commission (EC) released a draft delimitation document for Assam, proposing a change in boundaries of several Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies of the state.
The proposal has run into controversy in Assam. While the ruling BJP has welcomed it for “protecting indigenous interests”, Opposition parties like the AIUDF, which represents the state’s Bengali-origin Muslims, are unhappy, alleging that the draft divides voters on religious lines.
The proposed boundaries also threaten the electoral futures of some sitting legislators and parliamentarians, who now may lose their constituencies.
Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats to represent changes in population. Its aim is to provide equal representation for equal population segments, to ensure that no political party has an advantage. Delimitation is a constitutional exercise carried out based on preceding Census figures (year 2001 in this case).
While the slated delimitation process was done in the rest of the country in 2008, it was deferred in Assam (as well as some other Northeastern states) citing security concerns of the time. A 2020 notification from the Law Ministry officially revived the exercise in Assam. Following that, in December 2022 the EC announced that it would initiate the exercise.
What are the highlights of the proposal?
While the number of seats (126 Assembly and 14 Lok Sabha) are being retained, the EC has proposed not just changes in geographical boundaries, but also an increase in the number of reserved constituencies for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Scheduled Castes (SC).
Here are the highlights:
Reserved seats increased: SC assembly seats have increased from 8 to 9; ST assembly seats have increased from 16 to 19
Districts with autonomous councils (administered under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution) get more seats: one assembly seat increased in West Karbi Anglong District; three assembly seats increased in the Bodo Territorial Region
Change in nomenclature: Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency now named ‘Kaziranga’
How was the process carried out?
While the constituencies were delimited on the basis of census figures of 2001, the EC also took in the views and suggestions of 11 political parties and 71 organisations they had met during their visit to Assam in March.
Chief among the representations made by these parties included using 2001 census as the basis (the EC noted that some parties were for it and some against), protection of the rights of the “indigenous” people in Assam, and accounting for the “change in demographic pattern”, among others.
The poll body said suggestions and objections to the draft proposal were open till July 11. Following that, the commission would conduct a public hearing in Assam.
Why has it run into controversy?
Different political parties and groups have alleged that the draft is partisan.
Chief among them are the representatives of the state’s Bengali-origin Muslim community, who allege that the draft “deprives them politically” and “favours the agenda” of the ruling BJP.
A leader from the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU), which represents the community, alleged that if the proposal was implemented in its current form, the minority community would “suffer major losses politically”, especially in the Assembly seats (the Bengali Muslim community, often labelled as “outsiders” and non-indigenous to the state, play a role in at least 35 of the 126 Assembly constituencies).
“Constituencies have been shaped in such a manner that minority areas have been mixed with majority [Hindu] populations. Several seats — with significant Muslim population — have been done away with,” the leader alleged, adding that it was most stark in districts such as Barpeta and south Assam’s Barak Valley area.
Barpeta district currently has eight constituencies (though some spill over to neighbouring districts). As per the draft proposal, these have now been reduced to six. One among them (Barpeta) is now reserved for SC candidates.
A sitting legislator from the Bengali Muslim community, who did not want to be named, pointed out that in the eight constituencies in Barpeta, about six or seven would invariably elect Muslim legislators. “But now they have not only reduced the number of constituencies but carved them in such a manner that only three Muslim legislators can win from the Barpeta area,” he alleged, adding that the Barpeta Assembly constituency was now reserved for SCs. “This means a Muslim legislator cannot contest at all.”
On the other hand, in Karimganj and Hailakandi — two districts of south Assam’s Bengali-dominated Barak Valley— the draft suggests doing away with two assembly seats (Katlicherra in Hailakandi district and Patharkandi in Karimganj district). These again, the legislator claims, were dependent on Muslim votes, and would elect representatives from the community. “These examples stand out, but there are many more examples in lower Assam (stronghold of the Bengali Muslims) that make it obvious that Hindu seats have been increased,” he alleged.
Congress parliamentarian Abdul Khaleque, who represents the Barpeta Lok Sabha seat, called it an “unscientific and unconstitutional draft”. “This [the proposal] has been drafted by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and signed off by the EC. It panders only to his political gains,” he said.
Will it affect anything else?
Yes, constituencies of several sitting legislators and parliamentarians — across parties — may be impacted by virtue of a change in its reservation status or because it has ceased to exist altogether (either its name has changed or boundaries realigned or both).
For example, the Kaliabor constituency — a Congress stronghold represented by MP Gaurav Gogoi — has undergone not just a change in boundary, but also change in nomenclature: it will now be called Kaziranga. Many Muslim-majority areas from the new Kaziranga constituency have been shifted to neighbouring Nagaon, which observers say will affect the electoral fortunes of Gogoi.
At the Assembly level, the Muslim majority Dhing constituency — a stronghold of three-time AIUDF legislator Aminul Islam — has been done away with. Similarly, in Barak Valley, BJP minister Parimal Suklabaidya’s Dholai constituency has now been renamed Narsingpur and its boundaries altered. BJP’s sitting legislator Suman Haripriya will not be able to contest the Hajo seat in Kamrup district as it has been changed from ‘general’ to ‘SC’.
On Saturday, workers from the AGP— which supports the BJP-led government — held a rally in Sivasagar district protesting the dissolving of the Amguri constituency, known to be the party’s stronghold. The constituency is currently represented by AGP legislator Pradip Hazarika.
Groups from the Bengali-dominated districts of Barak Valley — both Hindus and Muslims — are also opposing the draft. While the three districts earlier accounted for 15 constituencies, the proposed draft reduces two seats. This, Bengali groups say, will edge out Bengali representation in favour of the Assamese, an old ethnic and linguistic fault line in the state.
However, groups from the Bodo Territorial Council and Karbi Anglong district have welcomed the proposal for securing the representation of their respective communities.
What is the BJP saying?
Members of the ruling BJP have hailed the proposal for protecting the aspirations of “indigenous” people. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters that the draft would secure “at least 102 constituencies” for the “Assamese” people. He gave the example of increased seats in the Bodo Territorial Region and Karbi Anglong, as well as Lakhimpur (strongholds of ethnic tribes and Assamese) to make his point.
The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Pabitra Margherita claimed that the exercise was “constitutional and neutral”. “We do not have any involvement in the delimitation process…But from our primary analysis, we have seen that this particular delimitation has empowered the indigenous people of Assam,” he said.
Responding to the allegations by the Opposition parties about “reducing” the Muslim majority in constituencies, Margherita said that it was a “wrong accusation”. “During the process, the EC does not look at caste, community, creed or stalwart of any political party,” he said, “That is why not only legislators from the Opposition but sitting MLAs of the ruling party have lost their own seats.”
Officials at a polling station during the 2021 Assembly elections, in Guwahati. The delimitation draft retains the number of Assembly and Parliamentary seats in Assam, but changes boundaries and reserved status. (Photo: AP)
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