Delimitation and concerns of South Indian States

Context: The Union Home Minister of India said that the delimitation exercise will not affect the southern States as new seats will be allocated on a pro rata basis, promising that the southern States would get their rightful share of any increase in seats.

Also, Parliament has passed the Constitution 106^th Amendment Act which proposes to reserve 1/3^rd seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies following the delimitation exercise. However, delimitation exercise has induced fears among the south Indian states who claim that they will be penalised for controlling fertility and will lose on representation and financial transfers. 

Background

• The inter-state delimitation of seats among the states for Lok Sabha has been on hold since the 1972 census. 
• The Parliament has passed the Constitution 106^th Amendment Act which proposes to reserve 1/3^rd seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies following the delimitation exercise. 
• States in Southern India feel that delimitation based on the latest population data will reduce their representation in the Parliament. They fear that they will be penalised for controlling fertility and will lose on representation and financial transfers. 

What is Delimitation?

• Delimitation refers to the process of redrawing the boundaries of constituencies or electoral areas. This process is carried out periodically to ensure that each constituency has a roughly equal number of voters, based on the principle of “one vote, one value.” 
• After each census, a readjustment is to made in (a) allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha to the States, and (b) division of each state into territorial constituencies. Such an exercise was carried out after 1951, 1961 and 1971 census. (Article 82 for Lok Sabha and Article 170 for State Legislative Assemblies).
• Parliament is empowered to determine the authority and the manner in which delimitation is to be made.
• Delimitation is necessary because population distribution changes over time, with some areas experiencing significant growth while others may decline. This can result in a situation where certain constituencies have a much larger or smaller number of voters compared to others, leading to an imbalance in representation.

About Delimitation Commission:

• Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India.
• Composition:
  • Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) or an Election Commissioner nominated by CEC
  • Retired or serving Judge of Supreme Court 
  • Election Commissioner of the concerned State.
• Orders of Delimitation Commission cannot be called in question before any court of law.
• The copies of its orders are laid before the House of People and State Legislative Assembly concerned, but no modifications are permissible therein by them.

Constitutional provisions for delimitation:

• Article 82 and 170 of the Indian constitution provides for the delimitation exercise at the level of Lok Sabha and State legislative assembly respectively.
• Constitutional freezing of delimitation exercise:

Impact of Delimitation:

• Balancing the Political Power (Gerrymandering): Delimitation can alter the distribution of political power among different regions and communities. The Redrawal of the constituencies can impact the electoral prospects of political parties and candidates. E.g., During 2008 delimitation exercise, Jharkhand witnessed a significant realignment of political power when the boundaries of constituencies were redrawn. 
• Addressing Demographic Shifts: In 2002, constituencies in states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu were redefined to address the substantial population growth in urban areas. It paved the way for better reflection of population changes and ensured that urban centers had adequate representation in the legislative bodies. 
• Minority Representation: Delimitation exercises have been instrumental in ensuring better representation for minority communities. In the 2008 delimitation exercise, constituencies in regions with a significant concentration of minority communities, such as Malappuram in Kerala.
• Enhanced Gender Representation: Delimitation exercises have also contributed to improving gender representation in politics. E.g., during the 2008 delimitation exercise, the constituencies in certain states were redrawn to facilitate reservation of seats for women in local bodies.
• Fair Representation: Delimitation aims to ensure fair representation by readjusting the boundaries of constituencies based on population changes. It helps in balancing the number of voters per representative, ensuring that each vote holds relatively equal weight and upholding the democratic principle of “one person, one vote.”

Issues associated with Delimitation:

• May result in decreased representation for States that have achieved population stabilization. E.g., Kerala, Tamil Nadu. 
• May lead to increased representation for States that are still experiencing population growth and have not yet achieved stability.

• Issues of minority representation: Sachar commission has recommended that constituencies with high minority population should not be reserved for schedule castes. But, there have been reports of not adhering to such principles in the recently conducted delimitation exercise of Assam.
• Delimitation exercises often face challenges in implementation due to logistical and administrative issues. For instance, the delimitation exercise planned for the state of Jammu and Kashmir faced delays and obstacles due to the unique circumstances and complexities of the region.

Roadmap for Future

• It is essential to ensure that the delimitation process is carried out fairly, transparently, and with adequate consideration for the interests of all communities and regions.
• Option 1: Delimitation Commission can choose to implement freezing of seats, until all States have achieve population stabilization. 
• Option 2: Delimitation Commission can develop a customized mathematical model inspired by the ‘Cambridge Compromise’. This model would aim to provide a mathematically equitable formula for the allocation of seats, similar to the apportionment of seats in the European Parliament. #Best Practice
• Option 3: Punchhi commission has recommended that states should be given equal representation in Rajya Sabha on the lines of American Senate model. This would help in countering the power asymmetry between states in the Lok sabha. Thus, guaranteeing states of not losing their representation and voice in Rajya Sabha.
• Option 4: Seats in the Lok Sabha may be capped at 543 whereas the number of MLAs in each state may be increased in line with current population. This may help in reconciling the democratic and federal principles of the delimitation exercise.