Delimitation Debate in India: Key Concerns and Solutions

The debate on delimitation, or the redrawing of legislative constituency boundaries, in India has raised several concerns and suggestions aimed at balancing democratic representation with regional equity.

Concerns Over Delimitation

• Population Bias: A major concern is the potential increase in power imbalance due to a fresh delimitation exercise based on population growth, which could favor northern states over southern states.
• Communal Demarcation: Recent delimitations in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam have shown tendencies to redraw constituencies along communal lines, potentially marginalizing minority communities.

Proposed Solutions

• Freezing Parliamentary Seats: To maintain balance, it is suggested to keep the number of parliamentary seats constant while increasing the number of assembly seats in states with growing populations.
• Redistribution of Rajya Sabha Seats: Proposals include redistributing Rajya Sabha seats equally among the five geographic zones of India to address regional power imbalances.
• Strengthening Zonal and Inter-State Councils:
  • Reviving zonal councils to mediate disputes and coordinate regional governance.
  • Enhancing the authority and permanence of the Inter-State Council for better coordination between state and central governments.

Recent Delimitation Examples

Two recent state-level delimitations provide warnings for the nationwide exercise proposed for 2026:

• Jammu and Kashmir (2022):
  • Criticized for creating new constituencies with illogical administrative and geographic boundaries.
  • Saw an increase in Hindu-majority constituencies at the expense of Muslim-majority areas.
• Assam (2023):
  • Frozen number of assembly seats but combined districts, resulting in a reduction of Muslim-majority constituencies.
  • Created constituencies with large discrepancies in population sizes.

Implications and Warnings

• Political Impact: Delimitation based on communal lines can polarize voters and influence election outcomes, as seen in Jammu and Assam with increased support for the BJP in newly created constituencies.
• Regional and Communal Divide:
  • Potential to deepen divides between developed and less developed states by reducing the former's influence.
  • Ethnic and religious lines could lead to increased communal tensions.

Conclusion

Radha Kumar, a historian and policy analyst, warns that the current approach to delimitation could undermine India's pluralistic federal structure. She advocates for halting the process to prevent further regional and communal divisions.