Editorial: Delimitation move — political mischief

The BJP is pushing a deeply flawed delimitation exercise under the guise of advancing women’s reservation, raising concerns over fairness, federal balance, and political representation

The intent is mischievous, and the timing is suspicious. The NDA government’s unusual hurry in convening a special session of Parliament to advance women’s reservation, linking it with the delimitation of constituencies, is a politically motivated exercise to continue the BJP’s dominance. If redrawing of the constituencies is based on the 2011 Census, it could result in serious injustice to the southern States, reducing their share of representation in Parliament despite their credible performance in controlling population and ensuring socio-economic development. The Bills being introduced in Parliament are the Constitution (131st) Amendment Bill and the Delimitation Bill, which the government says are aimed at expediting the implementation of 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, and raising the number of seats in Parliament to 850. The Delimitation Bill seeks to set up a Delimitation Commission to redraw boundaries of existing seats on the basis of the 2011 Census. It is clear that the BJP is looking to bulldoze a deeply flawed delimitation exercise under the garb of advancing women’s reservations. By linking the two, the government wants to send across a message to the people that the opposition parties are opposed to women’s reservation. However, the fact remains that no political party is opposed to women’s empowerment; rather, they are sceptical about the way the government is bulldozing the delimitation process to redraw the country’s political map in a way that benefits the saffron party.

Based on 2011 Census data, a purely population-proportional allocation to an 850-seat House would produce sharply unequal increases across regions. Hindi-heartland States — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Delhi —which currently hold 207 of 543 seats, would secure 366 — a 77% increase, with their share rising from 38.1% to 43.1%. On the other hand, southern States — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, and Puducherry — with 132 seats at present, would receive only 176, a 33% increase, while their share would drop from 24.3% to 20.7% . Eastern States would slip from 14.4% to 13.7%; the Northeast from 4.4% to 3.8%. The West and the northern non-Hindi States would remain roughly unchanged. States that spent decades building their health infrastructure, educational access, and women’s agency that brought fertility down now face a reduction in their share of democratic power, while States that lagged on these indicators stand to gain the most. Already, there are concerns among the southern States that their share in central allocations has declined despite their significant contributions to the national economy. This weakening of fiscal federalism will now be compounded by diminished political representation for socioeconomically advanced States. Even as the Bills retain population as the basis for redrawing constituencies, they do not spell out how Lok Sabha seats will be distributed across States while preserving regional balances.