GUWAHATI: The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, has granted approval to the Assam delimitation proposal put forth by the Election Commission of India (ECI), informed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on August 16.
Taking to a popular micro-blogging website, the Chief Minister wrote, “Today, we celebrate the esteemed President’s endorsement of the Delimitation Notification as issued by the Election Commission of India, pertaining to Assam. This marks a remarkable milestone in the annals of Assam’s history. Jai Maa Bharati Jai Aai Asom! (sic)”
The proposal that entails the reconfiguration of boundaries for both the assembly and parliamentary constituencies within Assam stems from the 2001 census data. The ECI meticulously revised all of the state’s assembly and parliamentary constituencies, culminating in the publication of the final delimitation proposal last week.
According to this latest proposal, 19 Assembly seats and 2 Lok Sabha seats have been allocated for Scheduled Tribes (STs), while Scheduled Castes (SCs) are designated 1 Lok Sabha seat and 9 assembly seats.
The ultimate decree reveals a notable alteration – SC Assembly seats have risen from 8 to 9, and ST assembly seats have surged from 16 to 19. It’s worth noting that the delimitation proposal also brings an increase in seats within the Bodoland area, as stipulated by the electoral commission.
Notably, the ECI asserted that it actively engaged with the public during the process, gathering over 1,200 suggestions. The final outcome incorporates a substantial 45% of the proposed changes and objections that were submitted to the panel.
In a long-awaited move, the ECI announced its intention on December 27, 2022, to initiate the redelineation of Assam’s parliamentary and Assembly constituencies. The prior attempts at this endeavour in Assam were repeatedly postponed due to opposition from political factions, who cited concerns about the concurrent updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
