Delimitation in India: Challenges and Concerns

Yogendra Yadav, a member of Swaraj India and national convenor of Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan, addresses the complexities of delimitation in India, focusing on removing biases and refining voters' lists. 

Impact of Delimitation

• Delimitation, or redistricting, involves adjusting the number of seats to reflect population changes, ensuring equality in representation.
• In India, delimitation has three components: 
  • Reallocation: Adapting to population changes within states and urban areas.
  • Redrawing Boundaries: Defining constituency boundaries, such as in Haryana.
  • Reservation Decisions: Allocating reserved seats for Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
• The constitutional principle is "one person, one vote," ensuring parity in representation.
• Delimitation is meant to occur after every census, ideally every 10 years.

History of Delimitation

• Delimitation occurred in 1952-1956, and after the 1961 and 1971 censuses.
• The 42nd Amendment froze delimitation in 1976 for 25 years due to uneven population growth.
• In 2001, the freeze was extended but allowed intra-state seat reallocation and boundary redrawing.
• Partial unfreeze allowed creation of new constituencies like Gurugram and modification of reservation allocations.

Current Options and Challenges

• Options for delimitation moving forward: 
  • Complete freeze as in 1976, though not advocated presently.
  • Partial freeze as in 2001, maintaining state seat allocations while adjusting within states.
  • Complete unfreeze returning to original constitutional provisions, with potential drastic impacts.
• Yadav suggests a permanent freeze on current ratios and adopting a partial freeze approach.

Fault Lines in Indian Society

• Cultural, economic, and political fault lines exist and could be exacerbated by reallocation: 
  • Linguistic differences between Hindi and non-Hindi regions.
  • Economic disparity, particularly between the South and West versus other regions.
  • Electoral dominance of the BJP in certain areas.
• Yadav calls for a compromise to strengthen federalism: 
  • North Indians to refrain from demanding more representation based on population.
  • South and West Indians to curb demands for greater federal revenue shares.

Additional Concerns Over Delimitation

• The delimitation process is not constitutionally defined, requiring new laws for each occurrence.
• Concern over non-partisan execution amidst institutional strain, particularly regarding gerrymandering.
• Recent instances in Jammu and Kashmir, and Assam showed signs of biased delimitation.
• Issues with overly large constituencies and the need for a balance without federal imbalance.
• Reservation allocation lacks formalized rules, sometimes perceived as unfair.
• Disparity in electoral systems and voters' lists between central and local elections.
• Emphasizes the need for a unified national voters' list before considering "one nation, one election."