The Election Commission of India (ECI) has proposed to retain the number of Assembly seats and the Lok Sabha constituencies in Assam as it released the draft delimitation papers for the northeastern state on Wednesday.

As per Articles 170 and 82 of the Constitution, the number of Assembly seats in a state and the number of Lok Sabha seats from a state are not to be altered till the first census after 2026 is published. As a result, the number of Assembly seats and Lok Sabha seats in Assam would remain 126 and 14, respectively.

The number of reserved seats for scheduled castes and tribes in the state assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam needs to be increased, the Election Commission of India said in the draft proposal.

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The number of Assembly seats reserved for Scheduled Castes should be increased to nine from eight, and for Scheduled Tribes to 19 from 16, the poll overseer said in a statement. For the Lok Sabha, it suggested reserving two seats for STs and one seat for SCs.

The EC said it had increased one seat in the autonomous districts in West Karbi Anglong and increased the assembly seats in Bodoland districts from 16 to 19. The Diphu and Kokrajhar pParliamentary seats were retained as reserved for STs, while the Lakhimpur seat remained unreserved.

The Diphu parliamentary constituency comprises six Assembly constituencies of three autonomous districts, it said. Two Lok Sabha seats were given to the Barak Valley districts – Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj. One Parliamentary seat was named Kaziranga.

The delimitation was carried out on the basis of the 2001 Census, the first such exercise in Assam since 1976. Among the Lok Sabha seats, two seats were proposed to be reserved for STs and one for SCs.

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Apart from the 2001 Census, the draft proposal was based on administrative units – development blocks, panchayats and villages in rural areas and municipal wards in urban areas – the EC said.

The Election Commission has sought suggestions and objections till July 11 and it will visit the state next month.

The Commission visited Assam from March 26-March 28 this year and held interactions with political parties, public representatives, civil society members, social organisations, members of public and officers in the state including chief electoral officer, deputy commissioners of all districts and district election officers regarding delimitation exercise in the State.

The EC had received representations from 11 political parties and 71 other organisations. The poll panel had started the delimitation process in December 2022, after the government wrote to it to initiate the delimitation.

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Assam CM on draft proposal

The constituency, Jalukbari, which Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has represented since 2001, was divided into three parts by the Election Commission.

After the ECI released the draft proposal, Sarma took to Twitter and said, “The draft delimitation published by ECI today stipulate that the current Jalukbari constituency, which I have represented since 2001, will no longer exist as it has been divided into three parts. I am feeling very saddened by this news. However, I welcome the draft paper as it accurately reflects the sentiments of Assam.”

Speaking to the media, Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “According to what I’ve seen on television, public enthusiasm has increased dramatically. The indigenous Assamese “Khilanjia” interests are guaranteed in the draft which has been prepared for the future of the country and people of Assam.”

“I lost my own seat, but it doesn’t really matter because I firmly think that wherever I will contest from, people will welcome me with love,” he added.

(With inputs from PTI)