Understanding the delimitation exercise

Subject: Polity

Section: Elections

Context:

The impending delimitation exercise for Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, based on the first Census after 2026, has sparked discussions and raised pertinent questions.

About Delimitation

Delimitation entails fixing the number of seats and boundaries of territorial constituencies, including the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), based on census data.
Article 82 (Lok Sabha) and Article 170 (State Legislative Assemblies) mandate readjustment of seats after each Census, performed by the Delimitation Commission.
Delimitation exercises were conducted post the 1951, 1961, and 1971 Censuses, highlighting its periodic nature.

Delimitation Commission

The Delimitation Commission is a high-powered committee entrusted with the task of drawing and redrawing boundaries of different constituencies for state assembly and Lok Sabha election.
It is appointed by the President and works in collaboration with the Election Commission.
The Commission consists of –
- A retired or working Supreme Court Judge (chairperson)
- Election Commissioner
- Concerned State Election Commissionersor
Commission’s orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.
The orders are laid before the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies concerned, but they cannot effect any modifications in the orders.

Need for Delimitation

Democracy and Representation: The essence of democracy mandates ‘one citizen-one vote-one value,’ necessitating periodic readjustment of seats to reflect population changes.
Freezing of Seats: Seats have been frozen since 1971 to encourage population control, with the freeze extended until 2026 through the 84th Amendment Act.

Challenges

Uneven Population Growth: Population disparities among states pose challenges, with some states experiencing rapid growth while others stagnate.
Options Discussed: Options include redistributing existing seats among states or increasing the total seats to reflect population changes.
Constituency Shrinkage: Electorates often lose their representation due to the merger of constituencies.