Delimitation reset to redraw India’s electoral contours

NEw young delhi: The regime is go under to make up a new Delimitation Commission to redraw constituencies and increase Lok Sabha and assembly seats based on the 2011 census. The exercise could significantly expand the strength of Parliament and state assemblies, with the Lok Sabha ceiling under Article 81 raised by 55% to 850 from the current 550.The delimitation will also operationalise, for the first time, one-third reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies — a long-pending plan approved in 2023.“The existing allocation of seats... Is based on the population figures published as per 1971 census and division of territorial constituencies is based on the population figures published as per 2001 census. The growth of population thereafter, across different constituencies...along with migration...have resulted in varying density of population in electoral constituencies,” law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said in the Delimitation Bill, 2026.Under the new framework, women’s reserved seats will be allotted by rotation.“Seats reserved for women in the House of the People and the Legislative Assemblies of the States, including women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, shall be allotted by rotation to different constituencies,” the bill states. It further clarifies that seats reserved for women within SC/ST categories will rotate within those constituencies.If passed by a simple majority in both Houses of Parliament, the legislation will pave the way for India’s fifth delimitation exercise.In the first exercise in 1952, 494 Lok Sabha seats were allocated based on the 1951 census. This number rose to 522 in 1963 and to 543 in 1973. The 2002 delimitation exercise redrew constituency boundaries but did not increase the total number of seats, which has remained unchanged sinceThe current proposal relies on constitutional provisions under Articles 82 and 170, which provide for periodic readjustment of seats in Parliament and state assemblies based on census data. It also operationalises provisions under Articles 239AA, 330A, 332A and 334A, which provide for one-third reservation for women in Parliament and state legislatures, including within seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.However, the proposal departs from the 2002 changes, which had stipulated that the next delimitation be based on the first census after 2026. The government has clarified that “latest census figures” refers to those available at the time the Commission is constituted.The move has drawn criticism from the opposition. Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi said the draft bills were “bristling with errors” and flagged the absence of provisions ensuring inter-state parity.“This is a serious breach of faith. The executive can’t direct a quasi-judicial body to do things in a particular manner. Oral assurances are meaningless,” he said, while reiterating support for women’s reservation.Singhvi also criticised the legislative process, saying the bills were shared shortly before their introduction, with no attempt to hold a multi-party consultation or refer them to a standing committee or a joint parliamentary committee.The bill states that “It shall be the duty of the Commission to readjust, on the basis of the latest census figures, the allocation of seats in the House of the People to the States and Union territories, the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of each State and the division of each State and Union territories into territorial constituencies for the purpose of elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly: Provided that where on such readjustment only one seat is allocated in the House of the People to a State or Union territory, the whole of that State or Union territory shall form one territorial constituency for the purpose of elections to the House of the People from that State or Union territory.”The Delimitation Commission will be headed by a sitting or retired Supreme Court judge and will include the Chief Election Commissioner.Armed with 2011 census data and constitutional provisions under Articles 81, 82 and 170, the panel will undertake a large-scale exercise to redraw constituency boundaries and add new seats.“All constituencies shall, as far as practicable, be geographically compact areas, and in delimiting them regard shall be had to physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and public convenience; (b) every Assembly constituency shall be so delimited as to fall wholly within one Parliamentary constituency,” the bill added.