25 seats lost by states in south, east and Northeast India will be gained by states in north, west and central India: Political commentator
From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI, Aug 28: A noted political commentator has advocated that states like Meghalaya should be allowed to retain its current number of two seats in the Lok Sabha even if the next delimitation due in 2026 reduces it to just one, as per change in the growth of population.
Meghalaya and some other Northeastern states, which have only two members in the lower house of Parliament, might see the number reduced to just one due to an anomaly between demography and the next delimitation process due in 2026.
Along with the Northeastern states, some southern and eastern states will also have fewer MPs in the Lok Sabha than what they have now as a result of the 2026 delimitation exercise, predicted Gopal Krishna Gandhi, former administrator, diplomat and ex-Governor of West Bengal.
The basic principle of delimitation is to redefine the number and nature of a constituency for the Parliament and state assemblies as per the number and pattern of population in the respective areas. States like Meghalaya have seen a small increase in their population while others like Uttar Pradesh have seen a massive growth, enabling them to have more seats in the Lok Sabha.
Foreseeing a rise in the number of Lok Sabha seats in north, west, and central India, and drop in their number in south, east and Northeast (if the next delimitation exercise is carried out on the basis of population), political commentator Sandeep Shastri strongly advocated the need for retaining the existing proportion of Lok Sabha seats allotted to each state.
His observation came during a discussion on “Representation in Parliament” as part of the two-day national conference on Delimitation: Inter-State Asymmetry and its implications organised by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Research and Extension Centre, University of Mysore.
Participating in the discussion, Prof Shastri, Director of Academics, Nitte Education Trust, said the percentage of Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Haryana will go up while the percentage of seats in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Kerala and Telangana will come down if the population figures as per the 2021 Census is taken into account.
If the Lok Sabha continues to have 545 seats after a delimitation based on 2021 population figures, a total of 25 seats lost by states in south, east and Northeast India will be gained by states in north, west and central India, he said.
However, he pointed out that as per the 84th Constitutional Amendment the next delimitation exercise can take into account only the Census conducted after 2026, which can be the 2031 Census figures.
Prof Shastri said there was a need to maintain the existing proportion of Lok Sabha seats for each state like the rule that prevailed during the previous delimitation exercise of 2002. Incidentally, the new parliament building has a total of 888 seats for Lok Sabha members.
The earlier delimitation exercise was limited to altering the boundaries of Lok Sabha constituencies within a state, leading to a rise in the number of seats in a particular area. If the number of seats allotted to each state remains the same, the average voter in a state with increased population like Rajasthan would be 23 lakh while it would be around 15 lakh in a state like Kerala and much less in case of Northeastern states but difference, however, does not appear to be a major aberration, he argued.
This fall in population growth is due to various family welfare and birth control measures which, otherwise, is a positive sign.
The population growth rate in Meghalaya between 1981 and 2011 has actually declined and the growth rate between 1981 and 1991 was 32.86%, whereas it was 30.65% between 1991 and 2001, Census figures show.
Foreseeing that delimitation based on census data would create a political anomaly and a civilisational piquancy, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, through the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution in 1976, froze the process. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, through the 84th Amendment, froze it yet again.
A delimitation exercise that adds electoral value to one set of states while depleting representative value to another is, to use a phrase coined by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, “exceptionally crude and valuationally gross”.
It cannot but be seen as an unfair punishment where there should be a deserved reward. Demography and democracy must go hand in hand in a country which takes electoral representation seriously and in a republic which sets store by federal principles, this becomes even more important.