Only EC can say when constituency delimitation will conclude: CM Himanta

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the State government cannot say anything about the delimitation exercise, including what path it will follow and when the process will conclude. It entirely depends on the Election Commission of India, he said.

Responding to queries during the Question Hour today, the Chief Minister told the State Assembly that of late, the media is replete with talks on the delimitation exercise, showing a purported draft list of the constituencies. The ‘draft list’ being shown in the media has nothing to do with the State government, which has not recognized any such list, he said. He appealed to the legislators not to be perturbed by such media reports and to be busy with the development works of their respective constituencies.

The Chief Minister said that delimitation is the prerogative of the Election Commission of India, and the State government only provides the relevant data when sought. He said that it is up to the Election Commission of India to decide the population base year. The current LACs (Legislative Assembly Constituencies) in the state are based on the 1971 Census data, and so the Election Commission of India may take the 2001 or 2011 population figure as the base year, he said.

All parties and organizations concerned may express their grievances before the Election Commission of India, which will hold hearings starting March 27, the Chief Minister said. He said that the Tarun Gogoi government had told the Election Commission of India not to hold the delimitation exercise in the state due to the law-and-order situation. “When the Government of India asked us about the delimitation exercise last year, we told them that we had no law-and-order problems. And hence, the Election Commission of India started the process on January 1, 2023. Only the Election Commission of India can say when the process will conclude,” he said.

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