Article 82 of the Indian Constitution mandates that after every census, a delimitation exercise should be carried out to redraw boundaries of assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies. For this, Parliament should enact a Delimitation Act every 10 years, following which a commission is formed to conduct the exercise.
But this has not happened in the case of four northeastern states — Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland — for the past five decades, allege the Delimitation Demand Committee – Northeast (DDC-NE) and other groups from the region.
The present constituencies were demarcated under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 2002 taking into account the 2001 census figures, except the four NE states, which had last seen this exercise in the 1970s.
Besides, the Constitution was specifically amended in 2002 not to have delimitation of constituencies till the first census after 2026. Thus, the present constituencies carved out on the basis of 2001 census shall continue to be in operation till the first census after 2026, according to an explainer put out by the Election Commission of India.
The problem lies in Section 8A of the Representation of Peoples (Amendment) Act, 1956, which says, “If the President is satisfied that the situation and the conditions prevailing in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur or Nagaland are conducive for the conduct of delimitation exercise, he may, by order, rescind the deferment order issued under the provisions of section 10A of the Delimitation Act, 2002 (33 of 2002) in relation to that State, and provide for the conduct of delimitation exercise in the State by the Election Commission.”
DDC-NE and other outfits, which recently staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi demanding delimitation be carried out in the four states, contend that the law and order problem is just an excuse given state and national elections are being held across the region.
Addressing the protesters, Habung Payeng, former information commissioner in Arunachal Pradesh claimed the Centre has violated Article 14 (Right to Equality) and 21 (Right to Life and Liberty) of the Indian Constitution by delaying the exercise.
“The Centre and ECI have been citing law and order situation as an excuse to delay the delimitation exercise. If there is law and order problem in these four northeastern states, then why are they conducting elections? This is nothing but hypocrisy,” Payeng said, adding that the NE groups are only demanding their “constitutional right”.
Lorho S. Pfoze, Manipur’s Lok Sabha MP and an associate member of the Delimitation Commission, had said there was a need to “reorganise” the borders of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur, adding, the Centre had given “very little importance” about the delimitation exercise there.
“It is sad that even after so many years, we find ourselves in a situation where people still have to fight for their fundamental rights. They (Centre) cite law and order situation for not ordering delimitation, but the truth is, the Centre has given very little importance to the northeastern states,” Pfoze alleged.
A case is pending in the Supreme Court, which on July 25 sought responses from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, Chief Election Commissioner, and others on the matter.
Sonowal rewarded for his ‘sacrifice’
Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal is the lone BJP representative from the northeast to be included in the party’s Central Parliamentary Board, the apex organisational body. His induction is seen as a reward for the “sacrifice” he had made after the 2021 Assam assembly elections by allowing party colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma to become chief minister. Sonowal was the CM of the first-ever BJP-led government in Assam from 2016 to 2021.
Sonowal is now part of the highest decision-making body of the saffron party along with BJP top guns such as Prime Minister Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah. Additionally, his induction into the Parliamentary Board automatically facilitated his entry into the party’s Central Election Committee.
This indicates that now onward, Sonowal will be deeply involved in BJP’s central affairs, especially choosing candidates for poll-bound NE states of Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland while Sarma gets a free hand to run the state until 2026. The move is also significant as it sends out a message to detractors who tried to belittle Sonowal’s role and significance in the BJP.
Some political observers see Sarma as a more efficient CM than his predecessor. The former is also perceived to be a key trouble shooter and a “crisis manager”. His controversial handling of the “Maharashtra crisis” at a time when Assam was reeling under the worst flood in decades is a case in point. His name also cropped up in the recent Jharkhand fiasco.
Sonowal, on the other hand, is not cut out for such work. He comes from a different background and prefers to avoid controversies. It was Sarma himself who last year showered praise on Sonowal and described his tenure as one “unblemished without a single charge of corruption or any other allegation”.
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