New Delhi, April 16 -- As the central government embarks upon an ambitious agenda to redraw the electoral map of India via legislation, questions hang over the constitution of the Delimitation Commission itself. It has also thrown up serious political issues about transparency, federal balance, and constitutional provisions regarding the Delimitation Bills introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The three Bills consist of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, the Delimitation Bill, and amendments to the laws concerning Union Territories.
The act confers on Parliament the power to fix the dates and data that would be used for delimitation; the current constitution provides that delimitation must take place after every census using the most recent information available. The new act, which has caused some worry about the potential for discretion in an area previously seen as being outside politics, addresses this issue.
Nonetheless, the main point that seems to be quite controversial is the fact that it fails to define the Delimitation Commission. Despite the fact that the relevant law gives details on how this commission is made up (including a sitting/retired Supreme Court Judge as well as election commissioners), it has failed to give a proper constitutional definition of the new Commission which raises some questions over the very existence of this commission.
Opposition - non NDA parties - have been outspoken, mainly, those representing southern and regional parties. Countering the concept to give Parliament powers to determine the period and manner of delimitation, the Congress has accused the plan of compromising the constitutional balance of power. The party leaders claim that "the process of allowing a simple majority in Parliament to decide on the delimitation will erode the constitutional provisions" and refer to the lack of a defined structure of Delimitation Commission as "an important institutional lacuna."
One of the strongest opponents from Southern India - Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) - where the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin accused the central government of trying to punish those states that succeeded in limiting the number of their inhabitants. "If you take steps to check your population, you cannot reward yourself by getting more seats in the Lok Sabha," Stalin said. On the other hand, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's
All India Trinamool Congress also showed apprehensions because of the growing concentration of power. They believe that the increase in the number of members of the Lok Sabha along with the increased power of the central government in the question of delimitation will definitely put the government in a better position. "It is very clear that these changes are being made to ensure that the party in power gets its way," - said one of the leaders of the party.
While, more structural approach to the criticism has been adopted by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The party fears that the recommendations may affect the federal nature of the Constitution. Party members argue that the exercise should be kept separate from politics and should be based on a scientific formula that is not affected by any political consideration.
Regional political parties like the Biju Janata Dal and Bharat Rashtra Samithi have further expressed their apprehension about the recommendations. The members of these parties fear that "any sudden change in the pattern of representation could further accentuate regional disparities."
The Delimitation Bill would increase the limit of membership in the Lower House from 550 to 850 members, of which 815 can be from the states, and 35 from the Union Territories. The increase will certainly have an impact on the distribution among states.
According to the projection made by the Delimitation Bill 2026, there is an evident reallocation of parliamentary seats considering population trends through the 2011 Census. The northern and central states are expected to have additional seats allocated to them. According to the sources, the state of Uttar Pradesh would have seat allocations from 80 to 89, while the states of Bihar would have allocations from 40 to 46 and Rajasthan from 25 to 30.
Whereas, there are some states in the south that are likely to have a decrease in representation. The states are predicted to go from 39 seats to 32 seats in Tamil Nadu, 20 seats to 15 seats in Kerala, and 42 seats to 38 seats in Andhra Pradesh.
Several states such as Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, and Delhi will not have much change in their seats, whereas small states and union territories will maintain their present seat allocations due to the minimum allocation of seats, as per sources. All in all, this re-allocation of seats reflects a trend whereby parliamentary strength moves from the south to north and central states whose populations are growing.
Even if the number of seats of Lok Sabha is raised, this trend is likely to continue.
Further, the incumbent government is trying to assure that this act tries to ensure faster implementation of reservation for women by doing away with the condition of linking their reservation with the next census to be held post the constitution amendment in 2023.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.