EC begins groundwork for delimitation of J&K, but no word on when it will formally start

The Election Commission of India Tuesday held its first meeting to discuss the process of delimitation of Jammu and Kashmir, and how it will be conducted.

Headquarters of the Election Commission of India in New Delhi | Suraj Sigh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India Tuesday began the groundwork for the process of delimitation of constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir even as it awaited official communication from the Modi government on the schedule of assembly elections in the union territory.

According to sources in the commission, in its first internal, informal meeting held on the issue, the three election commissioners were briefed by senior EC officials on the process of delimitation, how it is conducted and the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill passed last week, which bifurcated the state into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, with and without a legislature, respectively.

No decision was, however, taken on when the process of delimitation will formally begin.

“Right now, we are still awaiting a formal communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the Reorganisation Act,” said an EC official on condition of anonymity.

“There is no decision on the polls in J&K yet either…If the delimitation exercise were to take place, the elections could be postponed for a year or so, if not, the elections could happen in October,” the official added.

Delimitation refers to the demarcation of boundaries of parliamentary or assembly constituencies. It is usually carried out to ensure that each constituency approximately has an equal number of voters. The exercise is carried out after every Census, which takes place every 10 years. Additionally, the exercise is carried out in case of a division of a state into two or more constituent states or union territories.

After delimitation, it is believed Jammu will have more seats

According to EC officials, the commissioners were briefed about how the process of delimitation was carried out after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

In Jammu and Kashmir, delimitation has been a controversial issue since it is believed that after the exercise, the number of seats in the Jammu region would increase and that would lead to political gains for the BJP at the cost of regional parties. The last time the exercise was carried out in the region was in 1998.

According to the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, “…the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir shall be increased from 107 to 114,” and the delimitation exercise “may be determined by the Election Commission”.