Delimitation Concerns and Proposed Solutions
There is need for a fresh delimitation of legislative constituencies, highlighting concerns about increased power imbalances between states due to population differences.
Proposed solutions include:
Freezing the number of parliamentary seats while increasing Assembly seats in states with population growth.
Redistributing Rajya Sabha seats equally among five geographic zones.
Strengthening the Inter-State council.
Zonal councils could be freed from the Home ministry.
Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Issues
The 2022 delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir was criticized for:
Giving disproportionate voting weight to Jammu electors.
Creating constituencies with illogical administrative and geographic boundaries.
Allegations of using communal criteria, resulting in new Hindu-majority constituencies and altering Muslim-majority constituencies.
Creating constituencies with vastly different population sizes.
Assam Delimitation Issues
The 2023 Assam delimitation involved:
Freezing Assembly seat numbers.
Merging districts, leading to a loss of Muslim-majority constituencies and an increase in Hindu and tribal seats.
Also creating constituencies with vastly different population sizes.
Risks of Communal Division
There's a danger of communal demarcation in the 2026 delimitation, potentially leading to voter polarization.
There is risk of replicating the communal tactics used in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam.
Both population-based imbalances and communal demarcation pose significant threats to the country's unity and pluralism.
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