President's assent for delimitation, will alter India's pol map

NI Wire

New Delhi

Wed, 20 Feb 2008: 

President Pratibha Patil gave her assent to the Union Cabinet proposal by signing notification for implementing delimitation process in almost all parts of the country for redefining Parliamentary and Assembly elections.

With the President’s signing of notification the delimitation for Parliamentary anassembly constituencies will come into immediate effect in 24 states and Union territories except Meghalaya and Tripura where the process for assembly poll is already on.

The delimitation would come into force from March 20 in these two states after the election get over. The election for Tripura’s assembly will hold on Feb 23 and for Meghalaya assembly, it will be on March 03.

Four north-eastern states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Jharkhand are kept out from the delimitation owing to local resistance to the process and also in Jharkhand; it would effect the tribal population losing constituencies than gaining them.

Thus the delimitation Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies will put effect only on Karnataka, which is already under President’s rule that comes to an end on May 28. But indication is assembly poll in Karnataka will be put on hold till October-November.

The Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami during his visit to Karnataka last November had already declared that the commission will need time at least four to five months to prepare the rolls as per the redrawn constituencies in the backdrop of the new implementation of the Delimitation Commission report.

Assembly elections to a state can only be announced after the publication of the final rolls. Under these circumstances elections in Karnataka look difficult to be put on before mid-October. And if the deadline of May 28-when the President rules comes to an end-pass, the Election Commission will have to take a decision on whether the Karnataka polls should be held along with elections in Delhi, J&K, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram, which are due in November.

The Union Cabinet had approved the recommendation of the Delimitation Commission headed by Kuldeep Singh to redraw the boundaries of the constituencies.

BJP and JD (S) demand

BJP and JD (S) leaders are of the demands to the Election Commission that election in Karnataka howsoever should be held before May 28 under the new delimited constituencies.

But the CEC as per the sources said that it would not be able to hold the elections in Karnataka before August end. After which monsoon season for three months from June to September will further prevent the election to come on the platform. Thus polling may take place only in October-November along with the elections in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

A big question

The new delimitation of constituencies will increase the number of reserved (SCs /STs) seats from 119 to 132 and conversely put an adverse effect on number of political leaders. A number of seats will become reserved directing the present MPs to look another ‘alternative constituencies’ to fight election.