Election Commission of hearing on delimitation process

Some stakeholders welcome move, others want process to be put on hold

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) today interacted with 76 stakeholders and representatives of 10 national and regional political parties in connection with the delimitation exercise of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in Assam. While the Congress decided to give the meeting with the ECI a skip, representatives of other political parties put forward their views on the delimitation exercise before the Commission. Some welcomed the move while some others opined that the delimitation process should be put on hold in Assam.

The ECI delegation, consisting of Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel and other ECI officials, arrived in Assam on Sunday for knowing the ground reality and expectations of the stakeholders and the general public regarding the ongoing delimitation exercise.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) welcomed the ECI’s move on delimitation of assembly and parliamentary constituencies. The party, however, said that the delimitation exercise should be based on geographical and cultural diversity. Also, districts where population growth is less should not be penalized by decreasing their Legislative Assembly Constituencies (LACs). The BJP also urged the ECI team to consider increasing the number of parliamentary constituencies in Bodoland from one to two as the present Lok Sabha seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate. If the number of LS seat is increased to two, it will be possible for other communities to get representation in the Parliament.

The Congress alleged that the ECI had refused to hold meetings with the party on this issue on previous occasions. In response, the ECI said, “Individual response is not a practice and in any case cannot be given in connection to the delimitation exercise without hearing all the stakeholders.”

The ECI said that a delegation of the Congress had already met the Commission on this issue on January 4, 2023 in New Delhi. The Commission requested the Congress to participate in the interaction tomorrow.

The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) said that the delimitation process should be carried out in a way that the rights and interests of the indigenous people of Assam are protected. The student body reiterated that the population pattern differed in different parts of the State. Upper Assam has lesser population than lower Assam. The number of LACs in Upper Assam should not be decreased in the delimitation exercise. The AASU also sought to know how the delimitation process would be carried out. To this, the ECI delegation said that a draft process would be formulated after interaction with all stakeholders. Opinions and suggestions would be sought on the draft process and only after that the final process would be decided.

The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) requested the ECI to carry out the delimitation process in such a manner that the intent behind Clause 6 of the Assam Accord remains intact and the interests of the indigenous people of the State are protected. The party also urged the Commission to ensure that the number of LACs in Upper Assam do not decrease after the demilitation exercise.

The United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) said that the delimitation process should be carried out in a way that indigenous communities get represenation in the Parliament. The party also said that there was only one Lok Sabha constituency in Bodoland which was reserved for ST candidate. If Bodoland gets another LS constituency which is unreserved, it will be possible for other tribes and communities to get representation in the Lok Sabha.

The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) said that the delimitation process in Assam seemed politically motivated. Expressed apprehension over the exercise, the party said that till all doubts were cleared, the process should be put on hold. Raijor Dal also said that unless all modalities become clear, the Commission should not go ahead with the delimitation process in Assam.

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