Election Commission begins delimitation ofAssam constituencies
   Date :28-Dec-2022

Election Commission
 
NEW DELHI, 
THE Election Commission on Tuesday said that it has initiated the delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies in Assam and will use the 2001 Census figures for the readjustment of seats.
The Commission said, a ban has been put in place effective on January 1, 2023 on the creation of new administrative units in the State till the exercise is completed.
Under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 1972, the last delimitation of constituencies in Assam was effected on the basis of 1971 Census figures by the then Delimitation Commission in 1976, the poll panel noted. The move to redraw the Assembly and Parliamentary seats of Assam as per Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 has been initiated following a request from the Union Law Ministry.
Delimitation is the process of fixing limits or boundaries of the territorial constituencies in a country or a State with a Legislative body. “The Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel has directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam to take up the matter with the State Government to issue a complete ban on the creation of new administrative units with effect from January 1, 2023 till the completion of delimitation exercise in the State. The Commission will design and finalise its own guidelines and methodology for the purpose of delimiting the constituencies.
During the delimitation exercise, the Commission will keep in mind the physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facility of communication and public convenience, and as far as practicable, the constituencies will be kept as geographically compact areas, the statement noted.
Once a draft proposal for the delimitation of constituencies is finalised by the Commission, it will be published in the Central and State gazettes for inviting suggestions and objections from the general public. The term of the current Assam Legislative Assembly will end on May 20, 2026. The State has 14 Lok Sabha, 126 Assembly and seven Rajya Sabha seats.